	Introduction

The 108th Congress did not complete action on legislation to reauthorize the block grant ofTemporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The latest short-term extension funds the program through March31, 2005. The House of Representatives did pass a bill in February 2003 ( H.R. The differences in the two bills highlight some of the contentious issues in the reauthorizationdebate. Summary of the Similarities and Differences between the Two Bills

The bills had many similarities, with both extending basic funding at current levels throughFY2008 and incorporating President Bush's proposal to provide categorical "marriage promotion"grants. They both also raised TANF work participation standards, though the two bills differed interms of how much more work would be required and what activities count toward the participationstandards. The major difference in the funding provision between the two bills was that the Senate FinanceCommittee bill would have completely revamped the TANF contingency (recession) funds, whilethe House-passed bill would have made relatively minor revisions to the fund. Both the House-passed and Senate Finance Committee bills would have continued supplemental grants for the same 17 states at theFY2003 funding level through FY2007 (unlike other grants, which expire in FY2008). Contingency Funds. TANF includes acontingency fund, which is designed to provide extra matching grants to states that meet criteria ofeconomic need (based on unemployment rates and food stamp caseloads) and have stateexpenditures in excess of their FY1994 level. The Senate Finance Committee bill wouldhave retained the current law 30% transfer limit. They both raised workparticipation rates that states must meet from the current law's standard of 50% to 70%, raised therequired hours of working to receive full credit and provided partial credit for participating familiesthat do not meet the full credit standard, and revised the list of activities. However, the bills differedin how they did these three things. States are subject to an additional participation rate standard for two-parent families, currently 90%. The participation rate standards may be reduced for caseload reduction (not attributable to policychanges) that have occurred since before enactment of welfare reform (FY1995). Both the House-passed and Senate Finance Committee bills raised the work participation standard for all families to 70% by FY2008 and eliminated the separate standard for two-parentfamilies. Except for a limited period of time (see below), theHouse bill would have required that families participate for at least 24 hours per week in work,community service, or work experience programs to be counted toward the state's standard. The Senate Finance Committee bill also allowed states to have up to 10% of their caseload enrolled in a special program of two- or four-year undergraduate education or vocational educationaltraining. Detailed Comparison of TANF Provisions of the House and Senate Finance Committee Bill

Table 1 provides a detailed comparison of the TANF programs of theHouse-passed and SenateFinance Committee reported versions of H.R. 4 .
The 108th Congress did not complete action on legislation to reauthorize the block grant ofTemporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), instead adopting short-term extensions. Thelatest extension funds the program through March 31, 2005. Though welfare reauthorization failedto receive final action, a bill ( H.R. 4 ) did pass the House and a substitute measure wasreported from the Senate Finance Committee. The differences in the two bills highlight some of thecontentious issues in the reauthorization debate.
The House-passed and Senate Finance Committee bills were very similar in terms of how they would continue funding under the TANF program. Both bills would have extended basic TANFfunding at current levels ($16.6 billion for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the territories)through FY2008 and extended supplemental grants provided to 17 states through FY2007. Both billsalso would have provided new, categorical grants for marriage promotion activities. The majordifference in the funding provisions of the two bills was how they provided extra contingency(recession-related) funding to the states. The House bill essentially extended the current law fundthat provides matching grants to states that experience high and increased unemployment rates andfood stamp caseloads. The Senate Finance Committee bill eliminated the requirements that statesexpend additional money to access contingency funds, and instead based extra funding on the costof increased caseloads for states that meet revised unemployment or food stamp caseload criteria.
The two bills would have substantially revised TANF work participation standards that states must meet or be subject to a financial penalty. Under current law, 50% of TANF families with anadult or minor household head must participate, though the 50% rate is reduced by caseloadreductions that have occurred since welfare reform. Both versions of H.R. 4 wouldhave raised this standard to 70%, though under both bills the standard could have been reducedthrough credits (though the credits differ between the two bills). They also both eliminated aseparate 90% participation rate requirement for two-parent families. Both bills would have raisedthe minimum hours required of family members to be considered full participants, though the Houseraised them more than did the Senate Finance Committee bill. The bills also differed in the activitiescountable toward the participation standards: the House narrowed the list of activities countable,requiring recipients to spend at least 24 hours in work, community service, or work experienceprograms except for a short (usually three month) period when states may define what counts asactivities themselves. The Senate Finance Committee bill kept all activities on the current law list,and also allowed states to count activities on an expanded list for three months (six months in somecircumstances).
Both bills included non-TANF provisions relating to child support enforcement, responsible "fatherhood" programs, and transitional medical assistance (not addressed herein). This report willnot be updated.