For Immediate Release
December 4, 2008

  

WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley is working to shake loose from the federal bureaucracy funds Congress appropriated more than two months ago for a broad ranges of services, including child welfare, protection of vulnerable adults including the elderly and mental health, in Iowa and other states still recovering from devastating floods and tornados.

 

Grassley said his office has contacted the Department of Health and Human Services repeatedly and has been told that no decision has been made about the allocation of new federal dollars made available through the Social Services Block Grant program.

 

"This logjam hurts recovery efforts and defies the intent of Congress that additional social service resources go to help those in need," Grassley said.

 

The text of the letter sent today from Grassley to Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael O. Leavitt follows here.

 

December 4, 2008

 

The Honorable Michael O. Leavitt

 

Secretary

United States Department of Health and Human Services

Washington, D.C. 20201

 

Dear Secretary Leavitt:

 

I am writing regarding the $600 million in Title XX, Social Security Block Grant (SSBG) funds that were appropriated for disaster relief as part of P.L.110-329, the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act of 2009, and to urge that you release these funds to states as soon as possible.

 

As Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over Title XX of the Social Security Act, I take particular interest in how this program is administered. I have been a long time supporter of SSBG, as it is a flexible funding stream for states to provide services in support of child welfare, adult protection and mental health.

 

Agencies that provide these and other social services in Iowa are continuing to struggle in the aftermath of days of tornados and flooding that occurred last spring. Congress provided the $600 million in SSBG funding over two months ago when the bill that included this funding was passed and signed by the President. Iowans are working very hard to put the devastation caused by these disasters behind them and to rebuild their lives. They need the support of the federal government to help in that effort. It is imperative that these SSBG funds be made available so that the difficult work that will need to go into repairing and rebuilding lives and livelihoods can progress.

 

My office has contacted the Department frequently over the past few months and has been told that no decision has been made about when or how this money is to be allocated. This is very unfortunate and I am very concerned that it is needlessly placing Iowans at risk for not being able to access the services they need to help in the rebuilding effort.

 

I respectfully urge you to release these important SSBG funds within the next two weeks. If the Department is unable to release these funds by December 18, 2008, I would request a briefing as to why the Department is unable to do so.

 

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

 

Sincerely,

 

Charles E. Grassley

United States Senator