[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 52 (Thursday, April 3, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2448-S2449]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      BY Mr. ROCKEFELLER (for himself and Mr. Graham):
  S. 2820. A bill to amend part A of title IV of the Social Security 
Act to extend and expand the number of States qualifying for 
supplemental grants under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families 
program; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the 
bipartisan reauthorization and expansion for the Temporary Assistance 
for Needy Families, TANF, Supplemental Grants with my colleague, 
Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
  The TANF Supplemental Grants will expire this year without action. 
Currently 17 States depend on these grants, but our legislation would 
expand and improve on the grants. Welfare reform was passed in 1996, 
and since then neither the basic TANF Block Grant nor the TANF 
Supplemental Grant has been increased. This means that the value of the 
TANF funding in constant dollars has declined by almost 20 percent.
  In 2010, Congress will need to review the entire TANF program, but 
between now and then our legislation seeks to provide modest help for 
States that are struggling to serve vulnerable children in needy 
families. Our legislation would provide a modest increase for any State 
which spends less than the national average per underprivileged child 
on TANF activities of Federal and State resources. This would help 
States that cannot meet the average ``catch up,'' and provide more 
services to underprivileged children. To be reasonable, the increase is 
capped at $10 million or 10 percent of their existing TANF grant for 
States that have never received a TANF Supplemental Grant. For States 
that are receiving a TANF Supplemental Grant, they could qualify for up 
to $2.5 million in additional funding or 2.5 percent of their existing 
TANF grant.
  This is a modest but important effort to help every state provide for 
vulnerable children who are receiving less

[[Page S2449]]

than that national average for an underprivileged child. This proposal 
should help the most vulnerable at a time when the economic slowdown is 
creating more obstacles for families to make a successful transition 
from welfare to work.
  In West Virginia, our neediest children are not even receiving the 
average amount spent on America's underprivileged children, and that is 
true in too many States. Our children and families are struggling to 
meet the bold goals of welfare reform with fewer resources and tougher 
standards. This reauthorization is a chance to help those States that 
are struggling to achieve the national average for funding. It would be 
base funding for underprivileged children rather than population 
growth. It will target resources to vulnerable children.
  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I rise in support of the reauthorization 
of the TANF Supplemental Grant program. Today Senator Rockefeller and I 
introduced legislation that would reauthorize these grants and more 
accurately ensure that the dollars spent on this program are directed 
to poor children in the States that need it most.
  I am committed to ensuring that Federal dollars spent on welfare 
services and benefits are spent efficiently and provided to our 
citizens in a way that encourages self-sufficiency. In South Carolina, 
I am pleased that our Department of Social Services continues to work 
toward that end. Currently, less than half of States' TANF block grants 
are spent on welfare checks, and the majority of funding is spent on 
moving welfare recipients into the workforce. More and more States are 
using TANF dollars to help beneficiaries purchase services such as 
childcare, transportation and job training.
  However, the neediest States continue to struggle to provide welfare-
to-work services to poor families with children. South Carolina can 
only afford to spend 29 percent of the national average per poor child 
on TANF services compared to some States that spend well over the 
national average. It is important that this discrepancy be addressed.
  The TANF Supplemental Grant program was created in 1996 to provide 
additional assistance to States that spend less money per poor person 
on TANF services. However, many States, like South Carolina, spend well 
below the national average and do not qualify for this assistance. To 
date, South Carolina has the lowest spending per poor person of any 
State in the country that does not receive a supplemental grant. Many 
States that do receive supplemental grants spend more than twice the 
TANF funds per poor person than South Carolina.
  The Supplemental Grant program will expire on September 30, 2008. 
Reauthorizing this program is an opportunity to provide assistance, 
based on updated statistics, to States, like South Carolina, that 
cannot afford to spend the national average per poor child on TANF 
services. Especially during economically challenging times, providing 
this assistance to States can help our neediest families with children 
to get back on their feet and back to work.
  In working to pass this legislation, I look forward to collaborating 
with the Senate Finance Committee and Senator Rockefeller on 
identifying an appropriate mechanism to offset the costs of this 
proposal. I am hopeful that the Senate will consider this legislation 
in a timely manner.

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