From the Office of Senator Kerry

Thursday, April 11, 2002

MR. KERRY. I am pleased today to introduce the Welfare Reform and Housing Act. This bill contains measures to improve access to adequate and affordable housing for families eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits.

It is essential that low-income families struggling to make the transition from welfare to work have access to affordable, quality housing options. Families with housing affordability problems are often forced to move frequently, which disrupts work schedules and jeopardizes employment. Many of the affordable housing options are located in areas that have limited employment opportunities and are located a long distance from centers of job growth. Furthermore, high housing costs can rob low-wage workers of a majority of their income, leaving insufficient funds for child care, food, transportation, and other basic necessities.

Maintaining stable and affordable housing is critically important to holding down a job, yet an alarming number of low-income families do not have access to affordable housing. The data from Massachusetts is shocking: in order to afford a two-bedroom unit at the fair market rent established by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), a minimum-wage worker would have to work 105 hours per week; in 1995, 2,900 poor families used private homeless shelters, while in 2000 the number grew to 4,3000 -- with a majority of these families being low-wage workers who had once been on welfare. Lack of affordable housing is not a problem exclusive to Massachusetts. The Brookings Institution found that nearly three-fifths of poor renting families nationwide pay more than half of their income for rent or live in seriously substandard housing. Nationwide there are only 39 affordable housing units available for rent for every 100 low-income families needing housing. And for the fourth year in a row, rents have increased faster than inflation. We must address the issue of affordable housing during reauthorization of the welfare law because many low-income families hit this formidable roadblock on their path to employment.

Though access to affordable housing is often left out of the discussion of welfare reform, it is crucial that we address this issue during our reauthorization of the welfare reform law this year. The welfare reform legislation will not allocate considerable new funds to increase affordable housing opportunities, however, modifications to the TANF statute can be made to address the problem by other means. That is why today I am introducing the Welfare Reform and Housing Act. This legislation will address the housing issue in the context of welfare reform in six major ways:

First, the measure will make it simpler for states to use TANF funds to provide ongoing housing assistance. TANF-funded housing subsidies provided for more than four months would be considered "non-assistance" instead of "assistance". By considering these subsidies as "non-assistance,"states that want to implement housing assistance programs using TANF funds will not have to work within the constraints of current Health and Human Services rules surrounding "assistance" subsidies.

Second, the bill would encourage states to consider housing needs as a factor in TANF planning and implementation. My legislation would direct the Department of Health and Human Services to work with the Department of Housing and Urban Development to gather increased and improved data on the housing status of families receiving TANF and the location of places of employment in relation to families’ housing. States will be required to consider the housing status of TANF recipients and former recipients in TANF planning.

Third, the legislation would allow states to determine what constitutes "minor rehabilitation costs" payable with TANF funds. It is now permissible to use TANF funds for "minor rehabilitation" but there is no guidance from HHS on what types or cost of repairs are allowable, making it difficult for states to determine the extent to which using TANF funds in this area is permissible. By allowing states to define what constitutes "minor rehabilitation," more states with similar needs will follow suit. A recent study of the health of current and former welfare recipients found that non-working TANF recipients were nearly 50 percent more likely than working former recipients to have two or more problems with their housing conditions. Research has shown that poor housing conditions often can cause or exacerbate health problems.

Fourth, my bill would encourage cooperation among welfare agencies and agencies that administer federal housing subsidies. By improving the dialogue between public housing agencies and state welfare agencies, the two groups will be able to enter into agreements on how to promote the economic stability of public housing residents who are receiving or have received TANF benefits.

Fifth, the legislation would authorize HHS and HUD to conduct a joint demonstration to explore the effectiveness of a variety of service-enriched and supportive housing models for TANF families with multiple barriers to work, including homeless families.

Finally, my bill would clarify that legal immigrant victims of domestic violence eligible for TANF and other welfare-related benefits are also eligible for housing benefits. The proposal would ensure that abused immigrant women seeking protection under the 1994 Violence Against Women Act that are also eligible for other federal benefit programs have access to federal housing programs under section 214 of the Housing and Community Development Act.

Recent proposals made by the Administration and some members of Congress aim to increase work requirements for families receiving TANF funds. Therefore it is important that we are committed to ensuring that low-income families have a fair chance at employment. We have made progress addressing many barriers to work for low-income families such as child care, job training, and transportation. But in order to fully support families make the transition to work we must address the shortage of adequate and affordable housing. The Welfare Reform and Housing Act brings housing into the welfare reform dialogue and aims to help ameliorate the housing problem so that low-income families leaving welfare have a chance to succeed in the work force.

Thank you.