HR1218LRB097 22790 KTG 71575 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, In 1996 President Bill Clinton signed bipartisan
3welfare reforms which sought to reduce welfare dependence by
4encouraging welfare recipients to move from welfare to work;
5and
 
6    WHEREAS, The 1996 reform created the Temporary Assistance
7for Needy Families (TANF) program which made promoting work a
8central focus of each state's efforts to assist low-income
9parents in achieving self-sufficiency; and
 
10    WHEREAS, The 1996 reform resulted in a reduction in child
11poverty, a reduction in welfare dependency, and an increase in
12the employment and earnings of single mothers; and
 
13    WHEREAS, On July 12, 2012 the U. S. Department of Health
14and Human Services announced that it is willing to waive
15federal work requirements for recipients of aid under the TANF
16program; and
 
17    WHEREAS, The decision to offer states waiver opportunities
18was made without any prior Obama Administration legislative
19proposal or consultation with Congress; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Legislation has been introduced in Congress to

 

 

HR1218- 2 -LRB097 22790 KTG 71575 r

1repeal the actions by the U.S. Department of Health and Human
2Services and to make it clear that states do not have the
3authority to seek, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human
4Services does not have the authority to grant, waivers of work
5requirements under the TANF program; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Illinois law requires the Department of Human
7Services to advise every applicant for and recipient of aid
8under the TANF program of the requirement that all recipients
9move toward self-sufficiency and the value and benefits of
10employment; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The Illinois Administrative Code establishes
12specific work requirements for TANF recipients; therefore, be
13it
 
14    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
15NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
16we oppose any efforts to weaken the TANF work requirements; and
17be it further
 
18    RESOLVED, That we urge the Governor and the Secretary of
19the Department of Human Services to not seek a waiver of the
20TANF work requirements from the U.S. Department of Health and
21Human Services; and be it further
 

 

 

HR1218- 3 -LRB097 22790 KTG 71575 r

1    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
2delivered to the Governor and the Secretary of the Department
3of Human Services.