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Income Security and Family Support

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I have often said that the subcommittee I chair—the Income Security and Family Support Subcommittee—oversees America’s safety net programs. After what’s happened with the economy over the last few years, we’ve had a lot of work to do. The Subcommittee oversees unemployment insurance, foster care, and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, among other programs. It’s been a privilege to work on these programs, and I’m so pleased that I’ve always had the support of the people of Seattle. 

Safety net programs aim to assist families who are struggling to make ends meet.  With unemployment at nearly 10 percent and six unemployed people competing for every available job, finding a way to get back on your feet in a job market as tough as this one might seem nearly impossible. That’s why it’s critical that we have a strong safety net: Families need support as they try to weather this economy.

The Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support handles the following issues:

  • Unemployment Compensation
  • Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (commonly referred to as welfare)
  • Child Care
  • Child Support
  • Child Welfare
  • Foster Care 
  • Social Services Block Grants
  • Supplemental Security Income

The existence and continued improvement of these programs will ensure that those in need will receive the assistance they deserve. Here are a few legislative accomplishments that came out of the Subcommittee: 

TANF Emergency Contingency Fund
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included a provision I authored that created an Emergency Contingency Fund within the TANF program.  This Fund provides increased assistance and flexibility for states to grant short-term assistance for needy families and continue to pay ongoing benefits to families in the TANF program. It also included funding for states to run subsidized employment programs to give vulnerable Americans access to jobs and training opportunities and is responsible for creating or maintaining nearly 160,000 jobs. The goal of this program is to provide a “hand-up, and not a hand-out.” By providing incentives to employers who hire TANF recipients, it enables thousands of people who might have otherwise been overlooked for a job to move into real jobs with a more reliable source of income.

Unemployment Insurance Extension
Unemployment is what economists deem a “lagging indicator.” Even as other parts of the economy begin to improve, the rate of unemployment can take several months and sometimes longer to return to normal. That is why it is important to continue assistance to the millions of unemployed Americans who are still searching for a job. I have introduced and ushered through Congress numerous bills to extend and expand emergency unemployment benefits.  Unemployed Americans have paid into the unemployment insurance system, and have earned these benefits.  It is critical that these workers, who are unemployed through no fault of their own, have access to this lifeline as Congress and the President continue to work to create jobs.

Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act
Hundreds of thousands of children are in limbo in the foster care system. This act, which was signed into law in 2008, marks the most significant reform to federal child welfare law in over a decade.  Key provisions in the legislation include:

  • Providing support to relatives – generally grandparents, aunts and uncles – so they are more able to provide care for children in their own families,
  • Creating opportunities for children aging out of foster care so they are able to pursue education or vocational training after the age of 18,
  • Allowing more Native American children to receive foster care in their own communities by providing Tribes with the same direct access to federal funding for foster care and adoption services that states currently receive, and
  • Reauthorizing and improving the Adoption Incentives Program to allow more families to receive adoption assistance, particularly for adoption of older children and children with special needs. 
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