Congress passes TANF extension.

Last week, Congress passed a short-term extension of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, which was set to expire on September 30th. The bill provides funding to support the basic state block grant at current levels through December 31, 2011, and also maintains $612 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 funding for the TANF Contingency Fund, which provides assistance to states to cover extraordinary expenses during periods of economic hardship.

The bill does not provide funding for the TANF supplemental grant program, which provides additional assistance to seventeen states with historically low welfare payment rates and high population growth. This program has been funded at about $319 million per year. However, because these grants were allowed to previously expire, funding for the grants is now considered “new” funding and must be offset by cuts to other federal spending. As a result, it has become increasingly difficult to fully fund the program. Last year, Congress diverted funds from the Contingency Fund to extend the supplemental grants through June 2011, but at a level that only provided two-thirds of normal funding under the program.

The fate of TANF beyond December is still uncertain. The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources held a hearing earlier this month that focused on setting stricter work requirements for program participants as part of a longer-term reauthorization, a move that Senate Democrats are unlikely to support due to the punitive impact of such requirements on low-income families. 

National Skills Coalition supports a full reauthorization of TANF that expands access to education and training for program participants. We will continue to monitor developments relating to TANF funding and reauthorization, and provide updates as new information becomes available.