Letter Urging Congressional Leaders to Extend TANF Program

The Honorable Ron Wyden
Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Mike Crapo
Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Richard Neal
Chairman, House Committee on Ways and Means 
2309 Cannon Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Kevin Brady
Ranking Member, House Committee on Ways and Means 
1011 Longworth Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member Crapo, Chairman Neal, and Ranking Member Brady,

As a coalition of membership organizations representing the nation’s public agencies and institutions that are responsible for state and local workforce and health and human services systems, we are writing to urge you to provide a one-year extension to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, effective through September 2023. TANF provides essential funding to help state and local governments deliver benefits and services that help families experiencing poverty achieve economic mobility.

Congress last reauthorized TANF in 2005 and has renewed the program through a series of short-term extensions that has largely left the federal design of TANF unchanged. Despite this, states and counties have been hard at work in recent years to implement reforms within their control to improve how TANF helps people attain family-sustaining wages and succeed for the long-term. While we continue to seek bipartisan solutions for a long-term TANF reauthorization, a full-year extension of TANF is essential to give state and local governments the continuity that is needed to help people with barriers to employment meet their basic needs and access and contribute to the economic opportunity of our nation.

There is much work ahead and we stand as allies and partners to advance our shared goals. We urge Congress to authorize a one-year TANF extension, while we work towards a much needed reauthorization of the TANF program that aligns with the broader workforce and human services systems to support the economic well-being and mobility of all Americans.

Should you have questions or need further information, please contact Matthew Lyons at mlyons@aphsa.org.

Sincerely,

Tracy Wareing Evans
President and CEO
American Public Human Services Association

David Adkins
Executive Director/CEO
Council of State Governments

Chris Morrill
Executive Director
Government Finance Officers Association

Marc A. Ott
Executive Director
International City/County Management Association

Dan Makelky
President
National Association of County Human Services Administrators

Matthew D. Chase
Executive Director
National Association of Counties

Scott B. Sanders
President and CEO
National Association of State Workforce Agencies

Ron Painter
President and CEO
National Association of Workforce Boards