Return-Path: <nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id h1HDaSP22833; Mon, 17 Feb 2003 08:36:28 -0500 (EST) Date: Mon, 17 Feb 2003 08:36:28 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <7B2BB7E1-427C-11D7-8072-000393ABE4D2@litwomen.org> Errors-To: alcrsb@langate.gsu.edu Reply-To: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "mev@litwomen.org" <mev@litwomen.org> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-WOMENLIT:2492] welfare recipients - no access to college X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.551) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed Status: O Content-Length: 2122 Lines: 47 from the Chronicle of Higher education - Feb. 17, 2003 http://chronicle.com/daily/2003/02/2003021702n.htm House Passes Welfare Bill That Would Limit Recipients' Access to College By WILL POTTER Washington The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday to modify federal welfare law in ways that would make it more difficult for welfare recipients to attend college. The bill, HR 4, would increase the number of work hours required of welfare recipients each week to 40 from 30, and would cut the amount of time recipients could attend college in any 24-month period, to 4 months from 12 months. Like the current law, the bill, which passed the House, 230 to 192, generally along party lines, would allow vocational training to count as work hours. But the legislation does not state that adult basic and postsecondary education would qualify, said Ellynne M. Bannon, a legislative associate at the American Association of Community Colleges. Since counting those types of education is not expressly permitted in the bill, critics fear that states would hesitate to allow it. Under existing law, welfare recipients may spend 10 of their 30 work hours per week on educational training programs designed to help them achieve economic self-sufficiency. The bill would allow 16 of 40 work hours to be spent on vocational training. Such measures would prohibit the recipients from gaining the education and skills they need to stay off of federal aid, critics say. "HR 4 represents a tremendous step backward to achieving the goals of welfare reform," said Ms. Bannon. "It would severely restrict job training and job opportunities to recipients, and we're hopeful the Senate will react with a much more reasonable bill." The House bill, which is supported by President Bush, is an extension of a 1996 law that gave each state a lump sum of funds for welfare and the discretion to run its own welfare program. The law cut the number of people on welfare by 59 percent, to 5 million in 2002 from 12.2 million in 1996. Republicans say the new bill would reduce the number further.
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