TANF Extenstion Act of 2005

TANF EXTENSION ACT OF 2005 -- (House of Representatives - June 29, 2005)

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Mr. CARDIN. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott) for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, I must tell you, I am extremely disappointed. In 2002, the TANF law expired. This is the tenth temporary extension. These are missed opportunities. The Democrats believe that we should extend the TANF bill. But we should stop trying to micromanage from Washington, one size fits all, and we should provide resources necessary for our States to be able to lift American families out of poverty.

Our objective in TANF reauthorization should be to lift families out of poverty, yet the bills that have passed this body that the chairman of the committee has referred to fails to incorporate lifting families out of poverty as a core requirement of TANF.

We should be providing education and training to the mothers leaving welfare so that they can move up the economic ladder, yet the bills that have passed this body have restricted our States in their ability to provide education and training to the people on welfare.

We should be providing safe and affordable child care so that families can, in fact, move up the economic ladder and accept employment opportunities. Yet the bills that have passed this body have provided inadequate funds for child care. We have provided more mandates, $11 billion more needed in child care alone, yet the bill that passed this body provides only $1 billion, an unfunded Federal mandate. We can do better.

If we really want to lift families out of poverty, let us sit down now. Stop stalling. Let us work together, Democrats and Republicans, so that we can have a TANF reauthorization bill that will help American families out of poverty rather than the bills that have passed this body that will step backward.

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Mr. CARDIN. Mr. Speaker, let me just point out to the gentleman from California, we have worked together when he was chairman and I was ranking member. I would just urge the gentleman to sit down and try to work out a bill that represents the views of all people of this country and all 435 Members of this distinguished body.

I would point out very clearly that, the last time I checked, the Republicans controlled both the House and the Senate and the White House since 2002, and yet we have been unable to pass a TANF reauthorization bill.

Stop placing blame. Let us sit down and work together. Give us a chance to sit at the table, and you are going to have a much better bill that will help American families escape poverty and will give the resources necessary to the States so that they can get the job done and will provide safe and affordable daycare, child care for the families that need it.

In my own State of Maryland, the only way you can get child care is to go on welfare. That is the wrong message. Let us get it done right.

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