The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“CHILD POVERTY AND BLOCK GRANTS” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1880 on Oct. 2, 1998.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
CHILD POVERTY AND BLOCK GRANTS
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HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS
of new york
in the house of representatives
Friday, October 2, 1998
Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce legislation that would link HHS award granting to child poverty rates.
As part of welfare reform, the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families block grant program (TANF), provides over $1 billion for incentive awards to states. Beginning in FY 1999, TANF's High Performance Bonus Award program will give bonuses to states that reduce the number of welfare recipients. In an unrelated section of the bill, TANF requires that states determine the rate of child poverty each year and initiate corrective action if the rate increases above five percent from the previous year due to the TANF program. There is no linkage between the receipt of a high performance bonus award and child poverty rates. Therefore, under the current system, a state could sustain a dramatic increase in child poverty rates and still qualify for a bonus award if enough adults have been removed from the welfare rolls.
Such an outcome would not only constitute a major ``disconnect'' in welfare policy but is highly likely. For instance, in recent testimony about the Summer Food Service Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) found that TANF caused half of the states to reduce the number of food items in the meals or reduce the number of meal locations. GAO predicted that 2 million children would be provided insufficient meals, would travel further to obtain meals or may go hungry because meals will not be served in an accessible location. Under the current rules, states that reduced the lunch program would be eligible for bonus grants. I am sure my colleagues will agree with me that this result, though unintended, is something we cannot ignore, or allow to continue.
This legislation would require HHS to consider child poverty rates prior to granting awards and prohibits an award to any state that allows child poverty to increase more than 5 percent per year. My colleagues, if you share my concern about the well being of children under welfare reform, join me in support of this timely and needed legislation.
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