Burchett / 5 Senator Chun

S.R._____

A BILL
To amend the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act by implementing a longer term benefits system
based on tiered income levels in the TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) program, starting from the
current income cutoffs enacted in each state.
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE
This act may be cited as the Benefits Based On Tiered Income Act of 2015.
SECTION 2. FINDINGS
Congress hereby finds and declares that,
1) 20% of people who get off of TANF end up coming back within a year.
2) Of those who leave TANF and work, average earnings were below the poverty line.
3) The majority of welfare recipients (both current and former) who work earn very low wages with little-to-no
benefits (including health) received from their jobs.
4) Wages have stagnated over the last 3 decades.
5) Many states have not adjusted TANF payments according to inflation since 1996.
6) State funds and how they are allocated for TANF are not required to be made clear to the federal government.
7) More time constraints are involved in entering the workforce.
8) On average, a poor mother spends 32 percent of her total weekly income on child care. This percentage nearly
doubles when more than one child needs care
9) There are direct financial costs of working (such as paying for childcare and transportation.)
10) Single, working mothers material well-being does not increase (on average) in comparison to non-working single
mothers.
11) Over 80% of families reliant on welfare are headed by a single mother.
12) The vast majority of those who are reliant on welfare who worked often found that work rarely led to a great
increase in better circumstances.
13) The median annual income for female-headed households with children under six years old is roughly one-fourth
that of two-parent families.
14)Because of the lower earning capacity of women single-mother families are more likely to be poor.
15) Only 13% of 86% of mothers who wanted to work actually believed that they could afford to leave welfare in
one study conducted.
16) Almost 20% of Americas children are living under the poverty rate.
17) The poverty rate for children in single-mother homes is 33% more than the poverty rate for children in marriedcouple homes.
SECTION 3. STATUTORY LANGUAGE
A) The Benefits Based On Tiered Income Act of 2015 will proceed to establish a federally mandated system of
longer term benefits for families reliant on Temporary Assistance For Needy Families (TANF). This bill shall amend
Section 103 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act by implementing a tiered
benefits system which will be enacted for each person under the TANF program starting from the current income
cutoffs set in place by each state.
B) The United States Department of Health and Human Services shall take over the duty of regulation in regards to
maintaining and enforcing this bill. The funding for this bill shall be set in place by allocating 500 million dollars
from the military budget to TANF with the purpose of ensuring that the tiered income benefits will be properly and
sufficiently administered.
C) Each person under the Temporary Assistance For Needy Family program shall receive benefits based off of tiered
income levels until they reach a more stable level of living or until their time limit for TANF runs out. Should a
persons time limit run out before they have received a sufficient amount of help, they can apply for a 3-month
extension.
D) This act shall be enacted January 1, 2016.