TANF Extension Request to Congress
The Honorable Ron Wyden
Chairman
Senate Committee on Finance
221 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
The Honorable Mike Crapo
Ranking Member
Senate Committee on Finance
239 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Jason Smith
Chairman
House Committee on Ways and Means
1011 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Richard Neal
Ranking Member
House Committee on Ways and Means
372 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
September 19, 2023
As representatives of the nation’s public agencies responsible for state and local workforce and health and human services systems, we are writing to express our urgent request to Congress to provide a one-year extension to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, effective through September 2024.
TANF is a critical program providing funding to state and local governments to support the economic mobility of families experiencing poverty with benefits and services. Through TANF funding, families receive economic supports to meet their basic needs, employment and training skills that provide families with sustaining wages, child care and other vital services.
Congress last reauthorized TANF in 2005 and has renewed the program through a series of short-term extensions, creating significant uncertainty about the availability of funds for state and local governments tasked with administering the program. A full-year extension of TANF is necessary to ensure agencies on the ground have the capacity to continue to serve families and children.
The need for a full-year extension is especially pronounced due to recent passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA; PL 118-5) in June 2023, which authorized changes to TANF’s employment and education outcome-based measures. State and local agencies are working hard to faithfully implement these new program requirements while providing essential services to program participants. As we continue to navigate these changes, we urge Congress to pass a one-year extension to support implementation of the FRA while minimizing disruptions in TANF service delivery for families and children.
Please contact Christine Johnson at cjohnson@aphsa.org for further information or with any questions.
Tracy Wareing Evans
President and CEO
American Public Human Services Association
David Adkins
Executive Director/CEO
The Council of State Governments
Marc Ott
CEO/Execuve Director
ICMA
Mathew D. Chase
CEO/Executive Director
National Association of Counties
Dan Makelky
President
National Association of County Human Services Administrators
Scott Sanders
President and CEO
National Association of State Workforce Agencies
Brad Turner-Little
CEO
National Association of Workforce Boards
Tim Storey
Chief Executive Officer
National Conference of State Legislatures
Bill McBride
Executive Director
National Governors Association
Clarence E. Anthony
CEO & Executive Director
National League of Cities
Cc:
Rep. Vern Buchanan
Rep. Adrian Smith
Rep. Mike Kelly
Sen. Debbie Stabenow
Sen. Maria Cantwell
Sen. Robert Menendez
Rep. David Schweikert
Rep. Darin LaHood
Rep. Brad Wenstrup
Rep. Jodey Arrington
Rep. Drew Ferguson
Rep. Ron Estes
Rep. Lloyd Smucker
Rep. Kevin Hern
Rep. Carol Miller
Rep. Greg Murphy
Rep. David Kustoff
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick
Rep. Greg Steube
Rep. Claudia Tenney
Rep. Michelle Fischbach
Rep. Blake Moore
Rep. Michelle Steel
Rep. Beth Van Duyne
Rep. Randy Feenstra
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis
Rep. Mike Carey
Rep. Lloyd Doggett
Rep. Mike Thompson
Rep. John Larson
Rep. Earl Blumenauer
Rep. Bill Pascrell
Rep. Danny Davis
Rep. Linda Sanchez
Rep. Brian Higgins
Rep. Terri Sewell
Rep. Suzan DelBene
Rep. Judy Chu
Rep. Gwen Moore
Rep. Dan Kildee
Rep. Don Beyer
Rep. Dwight Evans
Rep. Brad Schneider
Rep. Jimmy Panetta
Sen. Thomas R. Carper
Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin
Sen. Sherrod Brown
Sen. Michael F. Bennet
Sen. Robert P. Casey
Sen. Mark R. Warner
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse
Sen. Margaret Wood Hassan
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto
Sen. Elizabeth Warren
Sen. Chuck Grassley
Sen. John Cornyn
Sen. John Thune
Sen. Tim Scott
Sen. Bill Cassidy
Sen. James Lankford
Sen. Steve Daines
Sen. Todd Young
Sen. John Barrasso
Sen. Ron Johnson
Sen. Thom Tillis
Sen. Marsha Blackburn
