November 9, 2005
States Call On Congress to Drop Unfunded Mandates From Budget Reconciliation Bill
Cuts to child support, child welfare and food stamps would shift costs to states
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The nation's state legislators called on Congress to drop from consideration cuts to the child support enforcement, child welfare and foster care and food stamp programs as part of the fiscal year 2006 budget reconciliation act.
In a letter signed by Illinois Senator and NCSL President Steve Rauschenberger and Michigan Senator and NCSL Human Service Committee Chair Bill Hardiman, state lawmakers pledged their opposition to H.R. 4241, the Deficit Reduction Act, unless cetain provisions were removed.
"The National Conference of State Legislatures urges you to drop, in their entirety, human services cuts that undermine and compromise programs that provide essential services for vulnerable children, families and individuals, violate the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act and result in unacceptable cost shifts to state governments," the letter to members of the U.S. House of Representatives said.
At issue are several provisions that would shift more than $6.8 billion worth of costs to state governments. The cuts to the child support enforcement, child welfare and food stamp programs would increase the costs to states for administering these federally mandated programs.
- Child Support Enforcement: Reduction of administrative matching rates reduces critical support for low income families and compromises investments in effective management of this program. Reduction in administrative funds will lead to lower child support collections made on behalf of these families, thereby leaving them less able to achieve self-sufficiency. Cost: $5 billion
- Child Welfare and Foster Care: Proposed limits on matching funds for administration hamper states’ efforts to find homes for vulnerable children. Also restricts a child’s eligibility for federal foster care and adoption assistance solely on the basis of the eligibility of the home from which he or she was removed. Cost: $998 million
- Food Stamps: Ends categorical eligibility for families receiving TANF funded services. Also extends from five to seven years the period of time before which legal immigrants become eligible for food stamps. Cost: $844 million
Additionally, state legislators oppose efforts to include language that would reauthorize the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program in the budget reconciliation bill. TANF, originally enacted in 1996, expired in 2002 and has yet to be reauthorized. The block-grant program has provided states with a great deal of flexibility to address the welfare reform needs of their constituents.
"The time for reauthorization of TANF is long overdue," Rauschenberger and Hardiman said in the letter. "However, the place to accomplish a balanced and reasonable reauthorization is not in a budget reconciliation bill. NCSL urges you to drop all of the TANF reauthorization language and rekindle efforts in Congress to strengthen the program and fund it adequately."
NCSL is the bipartisan organization that serves the legislators and staffs of the states, commonwealths and territories. It provides research, technical assistance and opportunities for policymakers to exchange ideas on the most pressing state issues and is an effective and respected advocate for the interests of the states in the American federal system.
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