03.03.02

Statement by U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (as prepared) to the Washington State Poverty Action Network

I am so pleased to be here with this morning with such an important group of community activists and scholars.

Thanks to Aiko Schaefer and Jullilly Kohler-Hausmann for organizing today's event. Washington state is lucky to have a compassionate leader like Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Wells in the State Senate. I am particularly pleased to see Barbara Ehrenreich, whose independence and willingness to tackle tough issues in defense of the people who need it most is inspiring. Peter Edelman's work embodies the ideals of an activist-scholar, and I am happy he is here.

All of us in this room believe that our society has an obligation to fight poverty. That's why many of you were active participants in the debate surrounding welfare reform six years ago. There is no doubt that the 1996 welfare reform law made dramatic changes in federal programs to aid children and families in poverty. While the process leading to enactment was complicated and controversial, we can all agree that welfare reform has had a profound impact on disadvantaged families and children.

When Congress passed the 1996 welfare reform bill, the nation's welfare rolls had soared to record levels, and one of five children - 14.5 million - were living in poverty. Today, at a national level, the proportion of children in poverty has declined to 16 percent, the lowest level in more than two decades, a drop of more than 4 million from the index's peak of 23 percent.

But while poverty has dropped, use of welfare has dropped even faster, suggesting that families are falling through the safety net.

Take our experience in Washington state, for example. According to a study of families that left welfare here in Washington state, only 55 percent were employed when they stopped receiving cash assistance, and those who did work earned low wages, averaging $225 per week. Last September there were 53,000 Washington state families receiving cash assistance through the state's TANF program, WorkFirst.

2002 is going to be a big year for welfare reform, both here and nationally.

Washington state's time limit on WorkFirst is 60 months, which means that coming up on August 2, 2002, the first families on welfare here on TANF will no longer be eligible for assistance.Not only are the first families going to excluded from the welfare system in 2002, Congress is faced with reauthorizing this vital program.

And I think that the central question Congress must now address is, "Is our goal simply to reduce our welfare rolls, or should our goal be to help people find jobs with a future?"

The correct answer, I believe, is that we want people to leave welfare so they can lift their families out of poverty - we want them to take a step up, not off a cliff.

Increasing training opportunities, guaranteeing wage progression, and reducing poverty should be the key goals of welfare reform.The way to do this is to convert national welfare policy into a tool for reducing poverty, not merely a source of spending cuts in budget belt-tightening efforts at the federal, state, and local levels. To be successful, TANF must recognize that knowledge and skills are the essential ingredients to creating opportunity in the changing economy.

In many instances, extra months or even just a few weeks devoted to training could make a lifetime of difference. TANF reform should advance and promote existing state efforts to identify people who could benefit from pre-employment training and education.

As many of you know, on Tuesday President Bush released his reauthorization proposal. The President's plan calls for an unrealistically dramatic increase of 40% in state work requirements for welfare recipients.

But I want to add a dose of reality to the President's proposals: President Bush is requiring states to take on large new spending programs at a time when they are facing huge budget deficits. In Washington state alone, our budget deficit is now $1.6 billion for the next biennium.

Against this backdrop of declining state budgets and increased mandates, the Administration's budget freezes TANF and child care funding for the next five years and the Administration proposes to cut nearly $1 billion in funds for Department of Labor workforce training programs.

The fact is, welfare program participants would be better served if more activities such as expanded vocational education or post-secondary education were to count as work. To do accomplish this goal, we are going to need separate funding specifically for training - the TANF block grant alone is simply not enough.

That's why when Congress takes up the budget and TANF reauthorization this year, I will sponsor legislation to increase investments in training and continuing education. Federal support for training is critical because welfare reform will never succeed if we don't ensure that there is adequate funding for training programs that invest in the skills of workers returning to the workforce.

Our challenge is to make this system work for more people, encourage them to leave the system and return to wage-earning jobs, and yet retain the vital portions of the safety net for the neediest among us.

I will continue to fight for the resources we need for these programs and I will continue to fight to ensure that every American has the opportunity to be successful and self-sufficient.

Thank you.