Religious leaders push for better
support for welfare
Urge lawmakers to consider plight of low-income
families
[7-3-02]
by Evan Silverstein, Presbyterian News Service
LOUISVILLE -- June 26, 2002 -- Christian and Jewish
leaders are urging federal lawmakers to strengthen the nation's welfare
system and help low-income families.
The Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the
Presbyterian Church (USA), is one of 21 leaders who have signed a letter
to the Senate Finance Committee, which is expected to begin deliberating
this week on a reauthorization bill proposing changes to the Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, better known as welfare.
The 21, who represent various religious denominations
and ecumenical and grassroots organizations, are asking the committee to
"take into account the challenges facing families at risk of
hunger, and struggling to escape poverty."
Others who signed the June 12 letter include the Rev.
Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, general secretary of the Reformed Church in
America, and the Rev. John H. Thomas, general minister and president of
the United Church of Christ.
TANF, which is funded by federal block grants to the
states, has been the nation's cash-assistance program for low-income
families since 1996, when Congress eliminated the old welfare program.
Current TANF legislation expires on Sept. 30.
On May 16, the House of Representatives passed its
reauthorization plan, which would increase work requirements, begin
block-granting the Food Stamp program, and restrict education and
training opportunities for recipients.
The letter's full text:
" …… and my chosen shall long enjoy the
work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, or bear children for
calamity; for they shall be the offspring of the Lord -- and their
descendents as well." Is. 65: 22-23
June 12, 2002
Dear Senator:
We write as leaders of faith communities to
acknowledge the work that you and other Senate leaders are undertaking
in the reauthorization of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
We thank you, and we urge you as you shape the reauthorization to take
into account the challenges facing families at risk of hunger and
struggling to escape poverty.
This moment gives us an opportunity as a nation to
ensure that God's abundance, with which we have been blessed, is used to
enable families -- in this case mothers and children -- to move out of
poverty and attain self-sufficiency.
We urge you to strengthen TANF in these ways:
· Make poverty reduction a stated goal of TANF,
and enact program components that help reduce poverty. Reducing the
numbers of families receiving assistance is simply not enough; we must
ensure that low-income working families have the chance to raise their
families out of poverty.
· Increase the opportunities for TANF
participants to get good-paying jobs that enable them to leave poverty
behind. We have seen in our congregations' work in the community that
recipients must be able to participate in all levels of education and
training as an acceptable work activity. Allow adequate time for
education (24 months for exclusive participation in education and up to
48 months when combined with work).
This way we can reinforce the wise choices of people
who have learned that only additional education will enable them to gain
long-term self-sufficiency for their families.
· Give states realistic options for helping
families as they transition from welfare to work. On a daily basis, our
congregational leaders confront the obstacles of TANF recipients whose
transition to self-sufficiency is not easy. We urge you to expand the
allowable work and work-readiness activities to give states the tools
they need to help each family address barriers and move toward
independence. Clarify the definition of assistance so that benefits to
families who are working will not count against TANF time limits, and
give states the option to serve legal immigrant families.
· Ensure that the value of the TANF block
grant is adequate to meet the goals of the program. At a minimum,
childcare programs need significant funding increases, and the block
grant should be increased annually to meet inflation.
Finally, we are disheartened with many aspects of the
House-passed TANF bill, and we urge the Senate to take a fresh approach.
Thus, we also urge you to:
· Reject a food stamps block grant. The effect
of this proposal will almost certainly be to take food off the tables of
low-income people and put more families at risk of hunger.
· Reject the "superwaiver"
provision. This would allow state and federal officials to circumvent
congressional decisions and has the potential for significantly harming
families.
The Biblical mandate is clear: We are called to assist
poor and hungry people, and especially to provide a better life for
children. We believe that government must lead the way in creating that
opportunity. Please strengthen TANF in ways that will make it possible
for families to leave poverty behind as they work to achieve
self-sufficiency.
Sincerely,
Bishop John Hurst Adams, Senior Bishop
African Methodist Episcopal Church
The Most Reverend Frank T. Griswold
Presiding Bishop and Primate
Episcopal Church, USA
The Rev. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson
General Secretary, Reformed Church in America
Dr. Richard Hamm, General Minister and President,
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk
Presbyterian Church, (USA)
Bishop Nathaniel L. Linsey, Senior Bishop
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
The Rev. A. Roy Medley, General Secretary
American Baptist Churches, USA
Dr. Glenn Palmberg, President
The Evangelical Covenant Church
The Rev. William Sinkford, President
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
Bishop Melvin G. Talbert, Ecumenical Officer,
Council of Bishops, United Methodist Church
The Rev. John H. Thomas, General Minister and
President
United Church of Christ
Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President
Union of American Hebrew Congregations
John L. Carr, Secretary
Department of Social Development and World Peace
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
The Rev. David Beckmann, President
Bread for the World
The Rev. Dr. Robert W. Edgar, General Secretary
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA
Jose Ortiz, Executive Director
Mennonite Central Committee
Hannah Rosenthal, Executive Director
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Daniel Sokatch, Executive Director
Progressive Jewish Alliance
Kathy Thornton, RSM, National Coordinator
NETWORK, A Catholic Social Justice Lobby
The Rev. Jim Wallis, Convener
Call to Renewal
