LOUISVILLE  A number of religious groups have joined together to urge completion of a welfare-reauthorization plan being considered by the Senate Finance Committee, according to a news release from the Presbyterian Church (USA).
The faith groups sent a letter to U.S. senators about the federal government's principal cash-assistance program for low-income families, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). Churches that signed a letter include several denominations, as well as Catholic and Jewish groups.
The coalition, the Interreligious Working Group on Domestic Human Needs, wrote in the letter, "We are extremely disappointed that Congress has not yet passed a long-term reauthorization to strengthen the program so families can move out of poverty."
TANF, enacted by Congress in 1996, replaced a 60-year-old entitlement program that provided cash assistance to the nation's poorest people. Its original authorization expired on Sept. 30, but it has been extended for a year by continuing resolutions.
The TANF rolls have decreased by about 60 percent since the program got under way in 1997, but researchers say most of those who no longer receive welfare are still impoverished.
The House passed its TANF bill (HR 4) last year, essentially endorsing a proposal from the Bush administration. The Senate has repeatedly postponed debate on the issue while dealing with other priorities.
The faith groups are calling for: adequate funding for child care; the restoration of benefits for immigrants; expansion of education and training opportunities; maintenance of the current work requirement, particularly as it applies to parents of pre-school children; flexibility for states to extend time limits for families facing severe barriers to employment; and enabling families to receive more of the funds collected through child support enforcement.
