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Policy News: Congress Will Not Act on TANF/CCDBG
Congress is nearly at the end of its special "lame duck" session, convened because it was unable to complete work on a number of important issues prior to the mid-term elections, including the reauthorizations of Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) and the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). However, Congress has indicated that it will not complete TANF/CCDBG reauthorization during this special session, and instead has extended funding for these two programs through March 2003. All of the remaining appropriations, including child care, are being temporarily funded until January 11, 2003. The new 108th Congress will begin work on January 7, 2003, and the House and Senate Appropriations Committees and the White House will meet to decide what to do about funding for the rest of FY2003. In the meantime, it is important to keep the message that Congress needs to increase funding for child care front and center. Prior to the elections, nearly half of the Senate signed on to a letter, authored by Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), calling for at least a $1 billion per year increase for child care funding. The Senators who signed that letter (and are still part of the 108th Congress following the elections) are: Daniel Akaka (D-HI), Evan Bayh (D-IN), Joseph Biden (D-DE), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Thomas Carper (D-DE), Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), Jon Corzine (D-NJ), Mark Dayton (D-MN), Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Richard Durbin (D-IL), John Edwards (D-NC), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Bob Graham (D-FL), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Ernest Hollings (D-SC), Jim Jeffords (I-VT), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), John Kerry (D-MA), Herbert Kohl (D-WI), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Carl Levin (D-MI), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Zell Miller (D-GA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jack Reed (D-RI), John Rockefeller (D-WV), Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Gordon Smith (R-OR), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).If your Senator(s) signed this letter, please thank them and urge them to continue fighting for a significant increase in child care funding when Congress reconvenes in January. If your Senator was not a signer, please contact him or her and make the case for increased funding for child care. To look up your Senator's contact information, look online at capwiz.com/cdf/dbq/officials/. For more information about the TANF/CCDBG reauthorization, contact The Children's Defense Fund at (202) 662-3671, or by email at CDFchildcare@childrensdefense.org. Facts in Action, October 2002 |
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