THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

3

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

supporting the TANF Reauthorization act of 2001 (hr 3113).

 

WHEREAS, on October 12, 2001, Representative Patsy Mink introduced the Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) Reauthorization Act of 2001 with thirty Democratic cosponsors, three of whom are on the committee of referral, the Ways and Means Committee; and

WHEREAS, the bill would also make it clear that its principal focus is on the long-term reduction of poverty, rather than a short-term, impermanent, and immediate reduction of the welfare rolls; and

WHEREAS, the bill would reform the TANF program to make it clear that postsecondary education is a work activity under TANF, for example, by providing access to postsecondary education for women TANF recipients as an allowable work activity; and

WHEREAS, in the United States, education has always been a route to economic self-sufficiency and social mobility; and

WHEREAS, in the twenty-first century, at least one year of postsecondary education will become increasingly more essential for all workers; and

WHEREAS, yet, TANF does not currently extend our nation's commitment to educational opportunity to women who are living in poverty with their children but who are ready, willing, and able to benefit from postsecondary education; and

WHEREAS, data from several studies have demonstrated that the additional earning capacity that a postsecondary education provides can make the difference between economic self-sufficiency and continued poverty for many female TANF recipients; and

WHEREAS, among families headed by African American, Latino, and white women, the poverty rate declines from fifty-one, forty-one, and twenty-two per cent to twenty-one, eighteen and-a-half, and thirteen per cent, respectively, with at least one year of postsecondary education; and

WHEREAS, further data have found that postsecondary education not only increases women's incomes, it also improves their self-esteem, increases their children's educational ambitions (inspiring them to enter college themselves), and has a dramatic impact on their quality of life; and

WHEREAS, the child support requirements within HR 3113 should be retained as their removal would severely impede attempts by households to gain economic self-sufficiency; and

WHEREAS, now, more than ever, TANF recipients need postsecondary education to obtain the knowledge and skills they will require to compete for jobs and lift themselves and their children out of poverty over the long-term; and

WHEREAS, without some postsecondary education, most women who leave welfare for work will earn wages that place them far below the federal poverty line, even after five years of working; and

WHEREAS, allowing TANF recipients to attend college, even for a short time, will improve their earning potential significantly. In fact, the average person who attends a community college, even without graduating, earns about ten per cent more than those who do not attend college at all; and

WHEREAS, women who receive TANF assistance clearly appreciate the importance and role of postsecondary education in moving them out of poverty to long-term economic self-sufficiency; and

WHEREAS, as of November 1999, at least nineteen states had considered or enacted strategies to support women's efforts to achieve long-term economic self-sufficiency through the pursuit of a postsecondary education; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2002, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Legislature supports the TANF Reauthorization Act of 2001 (HR 3113); and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature urges Hawaii's congressional delegation to support the passage of the TANF Reauthorization Act of 2001 (HR 3113) with consideration of the following amendments:

(1) Education should not exceed five years, coupled with at least a minimal employment requirement, to meet the definition of employment;

(2) A mother's ability to stay home to care for her child should mirror the practice of the non-assistance community, usually no more than one year; and

(3) The mandatory payment levels should be eliminated as this removes the block grant funding approach and would increase costs significantly; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, members of Hawaii's congressional delegation, the Governor of Hawaii, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

 

Report Title:

Supporting TANF Reauthorization Act of 2001