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House Again Approves Measure that Builds on Past Success of Welfare Reform

WASHINGTON – First District Congressman Paul Ryan voted today in favor of H.R. 4 – the Personal Responsibility, Work, and Family Promotion Act of 2003, which reauthorizes and reforms the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant, otherwise known as welfare. This legislation is nearly identical to H.R. 4737, which the House of Representatives passed last year. (H.R. 4737 was not brought up for a vote in the full Senate.) The measure seeks to build on the success of the 1996 welfare reform law and help more families on welfare rise out of poverty and achieve independence. The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4 by a vote of 230-192.

As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, Ryan helped shape this legislation to benefit Wisconsin by factoring in the state’s early leadership in improving welfare. Through his committee work, Ryan secured a provision that is part of the final bill, that gives Wisconsin credit for its past record of success at helping welfare recipients gain self-sufficiency. This provision establishes "superachiever" credit toward the state work rate for states – including Wisconsin – that have achieved welfare caseload declines well above the national average since 1995. As a result of this additional credit, Wisconsin is expected to satisfy the new 70 percent work requirement contained in this legislation, regardless of future caseload reductions. (Under current law, at least 50 percent of TANF families are required to participate in work and other activities designed to help them attain self-sufficiency. H.R. 4 increases the work requirement by 5 percent per year beginning in fiscal year 2004, so that states are required to have 70 percent of families on welfare participating in work and job-preparation activities in fiscal year 2008.)

"When we took up welfare reform last year, I wanted to make sure any changes Congress made in the program would not unfairly penalize Wisconsin for its early success in helping people move from welfare to independence," Ryan said. "We were able to make improvements in committee, and I’m convinced this legislation works for Wisconsin and the nation overall. It will help more people to move up and out of poverty and dependence on government welfare, and it makes sure states like ours get credit for leading the way on this issue. This will let our state keep developing successful Wisconsin-tailored strategies to assist families on welfare."

Ryan also worked to strengthen the part of this legislation that gives states greater flexibility through waivers – the "State Flex" provision. Unfortunately, this part of the legislation was pared down after it passed through the Ways and Means Committee. Although the committee-passed "State Flex" provision was stronger than the current version and would have permitted states to get waivers that allow them to transfer funds between program accounts, the legislation that passed today still provides flexibility to states through waivers. More specifically, H.R. 4 gives states the ability to apply for waivers for programmatic changes, including the ability to add educational programs under the definition of "work".

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