Negotiators for President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are eyeing expanded work requirements for a federal program that gives cash directly to needy families as part of a deal to cut spending and raise the debt limit.
Both sides say work requirements on recipients of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program could be an acceptable compromise.
House Republicans are pushing work requirements not only for TANF but also for Medicaid and food stamps. Mr. Biden has signaled that new restrictions on access to Medicaid are a non-starter.
“I’m not going to accept any work requirements that are going to impact [the] medical health needs of people,” Mr. Biden said. “I’m not going to accept any work requirements that go much beyond … what I voted for years ago, for the work requirements that exist. But it’s possible there could be a few others, but not anything of any consequence.”
Congressional Democrats are drawing a similar red line at cutting food stamps.
The average [food stamp] benefit is $6 per person per day,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar, California Democrat. “That’s who Republicans are. They would rather cut that … and take food out of the mouths of kids in order to make a political point.”
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While Democrats have jumped to defend Medicaid and food stamps, little has been said about TANF. That’s led negotiators to say new work requirements on the program could be an acceptable compromise.
“We have to start somewhere,” said a senior GOP aide. “We want work requirements on most federal programs, but there is a realization that if we get them for TANF, we can come back and push for requirements on food stamps in the farm bill or with Medicaid in the appropriations process.”
TANF is a federal program that doles out grants to states for the administration of social welfare programs. TANF money can be used for child care, housing, job training and transportation.
While each state has purview over creating eligibility criteria, the federal government sets broad guidelines for the program. For instance, TANF has a five-year lifetime limit for recipients and mandates that enrollees must find work within three years of receiving aid.
Currently, states mandate that at least 50% of families on TANF be working, searching for employment or taking part in job training at least 30 hours a week. The figure drops to 20 hours a week for single parents with children younger than 6.
Critics say the federal government gives states wide latitude in determining what counts as “work.” States also receive a credit toward meeting the 50% work rate if they show reductions in overall TANF caseloads.
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Grant Collins, a senior vice president for workforce development at the Fedcap Group, said the credit system has at times incentivized states to skirt work requirements by inflating their caseloads.
“A state would be able to find a TANF profile case, a parent and adult working already with a child, and then bring them on the caseload by providing a very small amount of TANF for $20 or $30 a month,” Mr. Collins said.
In 2021, 57% of work-eligible TANF recipients recorded zero hours of work, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. State governments have also relaxed work requirements since the start of COVID-19.
TANF has added nearly 40,000 recipients since 2019 — capping off at more than 2 million as of September. Given that TANF provides cash payments of about $500 a month to recipients, the federal government sends roughly $16.5 billion to the states annually for the program.
House Republicans want to prohibit state governments from easing work requirements for programs like TANF. They also want to mandate that every able-bodied recipient without children up to the age of 55 works at least 20 hours per week.
“Remember what we’re talking about — able-bodied people without dependents,” Mr. McCarthy said. “It’s 20 hours per week. You [can] go to school or whatever else. … Work requirements help people get a job.”
If successful, the overhaul would be the first to touch a federal welfare program since the mid-1990s. Those changes instituted federal work requirements and means-testing for social welfare programs while boosting job training alternatives.
President Bill Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act in 1996 as he sought reelection. The law gave state governments more autonomy over welfare services while reducing the federal government’s role.
The overhaul coincided with an 85% drop in recipients receiving direct cash payments through TANF and its predecessor from 1993 to 2019.
White House officials note that Mr. Biden backed those work requirements for TANF at the time.
• Haris Alic can be reached at halic@washingtontimes.com.
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