TANF Emergency Contingency Fund update.
Authorization for the popular Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Contingency Fund (ECF) – originally authorized under the Recovery Act – is set to expire on September 30. It is unclear if current efforts to extend the program will succeed.
Congress established the ECF as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act), and appropriated $5 billion across Fiscal Years 2009 and 2010 to reimburse states for increased expenditures for certain employment and support activities, including the creation of subsidized jobs for low‐skilled workers. So far, 37 states have drawn down an estimated $1 billion to provide subsidized employment to more than 250,000 needy individuals, but at least a dozen of these states have indicated they will discontinue their programs if the ECF is not extended, while other will offer much smaller programs.
There have been several legislative efforts to extend the program this year, but all have fallen short. A one-year extension was included in early versions of the tax “extenders” bill considered by Congress earlier this summer, but was removed in an effort to address deficit concerns from conservative Democrats and Republicans in the Senate. In March, Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Patty Murray (D-WA) co-sponsored an amendment to a Senate “jobs bill” that would have extended the ECF through March 2011 and provided additional funding for summer youth employment programs, but the amendment ultimately failed on the Senate floor.
Sen. Kerry is now making one last effort on this issue, circulating a “Dear Colleague” letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Finance Committee chair Max Baucus (D-MT) requesting that a one-year extension be included as part of any legislative packages considered in the Senate this month. His office is seeking additional signatures for the Dear Colleague, so workforce development advocates who support the extension of this critical program should contact their Senators as soon as possible and ask them to sign on to the letter by September 15.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the program, demand remains high, and it is expected that reimbursement requests from states and other TANF jurisdictions may exceed the $5 billion appropriated under the Recovery Act. To address growing concerns about how these requests for funds will be handled the Administration for Children & Families (ACF) recently released a “Program Instruction” letter that sets forth their procedures for prioritizing current and projected claims, including the creation of a “queue” based on date of receipt.
National Skills Coalition supports the extension of the ECF as a means to ensure low-income workers have access to employment and training opportunities in these tough economic times. We will continue to monitor legislative and administrative development relating to this vital program, and provide updates to the field as new information becomes available.
