Hunger & Human Needs Quarterly
Published by the Washington Office of the Presbyterian Church (USA)
Congress goes out on recess, leaving
unfinished many domestic poverty needs
October 8: The weekend of
October 8 Congress went into recess until after the
elections, leaving behind a substantial amount of undone work. A "lame duck"
session is expected to convene in mid-November and may resolve pending
budget issues but probably will leave program changes and reauthorizations
to be dealt with by the new Congress next year.
Poverty Increases
A factor that should influence all congressional and
Administration proposals regarding low-income programs is that poverty
increased significantly in 2003, according to the annual report of the U.S.
Census Bureau, rising from 12.1% in 2002 to 12.5%. Children account for most
of the increase and are one-third of all poor people in the United States.
Most alarmingly, nearly half of those counted as "poor" live in what is
defined as "deep poverty," with incomes of less than half of the poverty
line, the official government standard for measuring poverty. In addition,
the Census Bureau reported that another 1.4 million people have lost their
health insurance, raising the number of people without access to health care
to 45 million.
At the same time as poverty is growing, however, welfare
rolls are declining. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
proudly announced that only 50% of those eligible for welfare assistance in
2001 were receiving it, compared with 80% in 1996; the same trend continues
up to the present. Secretary Tommy Thompson attributes the decrease to
recipients finding jobs, coupled with poor people's ability to find other
ways to survive, such as living with relatives or receiving charity, rather
than applying for welfare. Since the employment rate for single mothers is
actually going down (from 73% in 2000 to 69.8% in 2003), it seems unlikely
that being employed could account for this decline in welfare use. A more
probable explanation is that poor people are being discouraged from applying
for welfare or are being rejected. Many states make the application process
difficult. Others divert potential applicants into charitable programs
instead of processing their welfare applications.
Since the federal welfare system was overhauled in 1996,
much has been learned about what works to help people leave public
assistance programs such as TANF and Food Stamps. It is clear that
completing high school and receiving training for marketable job skills will
improve employment possibilities and income for impoverished workers; and
yet Congress is seeking to increase work hours, reduce educational
opportunities, and provide no additional job training.
Likewise, it is known that the absence of safe, high
quality child care is the single greatest factor in keeping mothers from
working; yet Congress cannot agree on whether or how to address the severe
child care shortage.
The role of marriage in combating poverty is somewhat less
clear. Studies have shown that incomes are higher in two-parent families and
that outcomes are better for children when both parents are present. It is
less clear that marriage offers a solution to poverty for people who have
children before they are married. Many women who live apart from the fathers
of their children do so in order to escape domestic violence, mental health
or drug and alcohol problems with the fathers. Government-funded marriage
promotion programs need to take seriously the importance of counseling,
social services, and treatment when they encourage marriage as a route out
of poverty.
Other barriers to employment as a means of leaving poverty
include the absence of entry-level jobs with livable salaries and benefits,
the high cost of transportation and lack of public transit to reach work,
and the fact that inexpensive housing is generally found only at a great
distance from employment centers.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), along with 24 national
groups in the faith community, has sent letters to both President Bush and
Senator Kerry asking them to outline their plans to decrease poverty in the
U.S. and to increase access to health care. To view the letter, see page 3.
Temporary Assistance To Needy Families (TANF)
For the eighth time in just over two years, Congress has
approved a short-term extension of the current TANF program, this time
through March 31, 2005. Authorization for TANF -- the federal cash
assistance program for very low-income families with children -- expired in
August 2002. Since then, Congress has been split into two camps -- those who
want to reduce the program's rolls as rapidly as possible and those who want
to invest TANF's resources in providing social services and education to
recipients so that they can become employable.
In 2003 the House passed H.R. 4, which would have
reauthorized TANF while significantly increasing the work requirements,
reducing educational and job training opportunities, and providing only a
slight increase in child care funding. The Senate's debate on H.R. 4
collapsed when the leadership blocked a vote on an amendment to increase the
minimum wage for the first time in seven years. The Senate bill also
included a substantial increase in child care funding that would have been
rigorously opposed in the House.
Subsequently, while a six-month funding extension for TANF
was being considered, Sens. Santorum (R-PA) and Bayh (D-IN) introduced
legislation to extend TANF for six months, while providing two years of
funding for marriage promotion and fatherhood initiatives. Funding for those
new initiatives would divert funds already being used for TANF-related
services.
The Presbyterian Church (USA) joined with other faith
community groups to send a letter to Congress urging it to pass a "clean" (unamended)
extension of TANF until next year, unless the legislators were willing to
consider a wide range of proposals for improvements to the legislation,
including child care and child support improvements. Congress ended up
passing a clean extension of current law for six months.
The new Congress will have to face the issue of TANF
extension or reauthorization by March 31 next year.
Tax Cuts
On October 4 President Bush signed legislation extending
several "middle class" tax cuts that were due to expire this year. Several
corporate tax breaks were also included in the bill. Since no provision is
made in the legislation to pay for these tax cuts, their cost will become
part of the debt burden being developed for future generations.
The Working Families Tax Relief Act will:
- extend the $1,000 per child tax credit for five years;
- extend through 2008 the "marriage penalty" relief for
married couples, which benefits middle income but not very poor families;
- extend the 10% tax bracket through 2008;
- extend income exemptions for the alternate minimum tax
for an additional year; and
- move up by one year the date on which the child tax
credit becomes refundable for low-income families in the 15% tax category.
This provision means that families earning over $10,750 may apply for a
refund if the amount of the credit ($1,000) exceeds their income taxes for
calendar year 2004. This provision does not apply to families with lower
incomes.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has reported
that only 9% of the benefits from this legislation will go to the middle 20%
of households in the income spectrum covered, while 70% goes to higher
earners.
Housing
Funding for Section 8 housing vouchers will continue to be
an issue in the "lame duck" session. The Senate Appropriations Committee has
approved an increase of $2.2 billion for the program that includes Section
8, but the House Appropriations Committee did not approve any expansion. The
Senate bill would provide enough funds to cover all current vouchers and
also requires that 75% of the vouchers go to extremely low-income families.
The Senate measure also includes slight increases in funding for housing aid
to low-income people who are elderly, handicapped, or suffering from AIDS.
The Bush Administration has called for converting Section
8 into a block grant to the states, a concept rejected by the Senate
Appropriations Committee, which also turned down a White House request to
terminate the HOPE VI program to fund renovation of deteriorated public
housing.
Since the House bill would reduce funding for nearly every
Housing and Urban Development program, it is unlikely that the House and
Senate will be able to resolve their differences in the short "lame duck"
session. Instead, HUD funding will probably be part of an omnibus bill
extending current funding for all agencies whose budgets have not been
approved by Congress already.
-Written by Mary A. Cooper
General Assembly
Policy
From Transforming Families (2004):
j. That the 216th General Assembly (2004) urge synods,
presbyteries, congregations, and individual Presbyterians to advocate for
local, state, and federal legislation that might strengthen family life. The
following broad purposes, in the assembly's judgment, should be pursued in
such legislation:
(1) Expand educational programs conveying information,
attitudes, and habits conducive to healthy relationships in marriage,
singleness, and other family situations.
(2) Affirm and advocate for tax codes, entitlement
programs, and conditions of employment that assist all families. When
revenues are lost or extra expenditures incurred through abolishing
"marriage penalties," the resulting shortfall should not be made up at the
expense of programs that serve the poor.
(3) Make generous financial support available for the care
of children and other dependents. Such support should not discriminate among
those who choose to have dependent family members at home, those who choose
commercial care, and those who choose other care arrangements. The goal is
to ensure quality, affordable, and safe care for every child and dependent.
(4) Induce employers to offer more flexible work hours,
more paid leave for the care of dependent persons and child-related
activities, more telecommuting options, more possibilities for part-time
jobs with prorated wages and benefits, family-supporting wages for all
workers, and more available, affordable, and flexible child care programs.
(5) Ensure "the right of every person to have access to
quality health care that is adequate, affordable, and accountable" as a
necessity for family life.
k. That the Presbyterian Washington Office (and other
appropriate General Assembly offices) convey these policy concerns to
political leaders and church members; and that they monitor legislation
addressing these concerns, reporting to Presbyterians when they have an
opportunity to influence such legislation.
Resolution on Welfare and Poverty (1997):
(2) Principles That Guide Advocacy Relating to Government
Programs to Address Poverty and Its Causes
(d) "Government assistance programs should be available to
all residents, regardless of residency status."
(e) "Government assistance programs should strengthen
family life, with benefits provided equitably to both one- and two-parent
families."
(f) "Government policies that stimulate full employment
offer the best hope for an economy in which all have access to employment at
a level of compensation that allows them to live in dignity and security...
"
(g) "... Effective work programs will eliminate barriers
to employment and provide training and education necessary for inexperienced
and young workers to get and hold jobs. Such programs will need to provide
child care, transportation, health insurance, and other ancillary services
that will make participation both possible and reasonable."
Interreligious Working Group on Domestic Human Needs
September 8, 2004
Dear President Bush/Senator Kerry:
As representatives of communities of faith, we are deeply
troubled by the recent Census Bureau report that details the increasing
number of people in poverty and the increasing number of people without
health insurance. Our nation is also being destabilized by the growing gap
between those with extreme wealth and those living in deep poverty.
In 2003, an additional 1.3 million people fell below the
poverty line, and 733,000 were children. The poverty line for a family of
three, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, is $14,680 ($18,810 for a
family of four). Currently, 17.6 percent of children in the United States -
nearly one in five - are living in poverty. The new data show 35.9 million
people living in poverty, with 43 percent (15.3 million) living in deep
poverty, meaning they have cash incomes below half of the poverty line. This
is the highest percentage on record. As a nation, we are moving backward and
losing the positive gains we have recently made toward poverty reduction.
The new Census Bureau data also shows that an additional
1.4 million people entered the ranks of the uninsured, resulting in a record
number, 45 million, now uninsured. Because of increased participation in
Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program, the proportion
of children without health insurance coverage has remained constant at 11.4
percent. Were it not for those public programs, levels of uninsured children
would have increased, as employer-based health care coverage declined in
2003.
As you continue your campaign for President, we urge you
to speak out for the needs of those in poverty and those without health
insurance. (We are also sending this letter and these questions to Senator
Kerry/President Bush.) We urge you to answer these questions - to us and to
the public:
* How will you reduce poverty, and specifically child
poverty, in the next four years?
* What will you do to reduce the number of people who lack
health insurance in the next four years?
* How will you address the inability of the nation's
health care system to provide affordable, quality health care to all?
* Will you commit to a specific goal to cut poverty in
half by 2010?
* Will you commit to a goal to increase the number of
people who are insured (i.e. "In the next four years, due to my policies, xx
million more people will be covered by health insurance.")?
As communities of faith, we will continue to provide what
services we can to reduce the impact of poverty on vulnerable populations,
and to advocate for just policies that will lift all persons out of poverty.
However, we are deeply concerned that the current economy is not working
well for all people and that the opportunity for excellent health care is
not accessible for many. We believe that our society and economy need to be
strengthened by providing greater equality of opportunity, just reward for
hard work, quality health care for all, and a vision of working together for
the common good.
We appreciate your attention to our concerns and thank you
in advance for your responses to our attached questions.
Sincerely,
American Baptist Churches USA
Call to Renewal
The Central Conference of American Rabbis
Christians for Justice Action (United Church of Christ)
Church of the Brethren Witness/Washington Office
Church Women United
Disciples Advocacy Washington Network
Disciples Justice Action Network
The Episcopal Church, USA
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Fellowship of Reconciliation
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Lutheran Services in America
Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Washington Office
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good
Shepherd
National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Washington Office
The Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries
The United Methodist Church - General Board of Church and
Society
Union for Reform Judaism
Women of Reform Judaism
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