The following provides a legislative history of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) through September 2012:
P.L. 104-193, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, established the block grant of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Appropriated funds for the block grant through FY2002. Signed into law August 22, 1996.
P.L. 105-33, the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, raised the cap limiting the counting of vocational educational training and teen parents engaged in education from 20 percent of those considered engaged in work to 30 percent of those considered engaged in work, and temporarily removed from that cap teen parents through FY1999; set the maximum allowable TANF transfer to Title XX social services at 10 percent of the block grant (rather than one-third of total transfers); and made technical corrections to P.L. 104-193. P.L. 105-33 also established the $3 billion over two-years (FY1998 and FY1999) Welfare-to-Work (WTW) grant program within TANF, but administered by the Department of Labor at the Federal level, with local administration by State workforce investment boards and competitive grantees. Signed into law August 5, 1997.
P.L. 105-89, the Adoption and Safe Families Act, reduced the contingency fund appropriation by $40 million. Signed into law November 19, 1997.
P.L. 105-220, the Transportation Act for the 21st Century, permitted the use of Federal TANF funds to be used as matching funds for reverse commuter grants.
P.L. 106-113, the Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2000, broadened eligibility for recipients to be served by the WTW grant program and added limited authority for vocational educational or job training to be WTW activities. Signed into law November 29, 1999.
P.L. 106-554, the Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2001, gave grantees two more years to spend WTW grant funds (a total of five years from the date of the grant award).
P.L. 107-147, the Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act, extended supplemental grants and contingency funds, both of which had expired on September 30, 2001, through FY2002. (Supplemental grants were extended at FY2001 levels). Singed into law March 9, 2002.
P.L. 107-229 extended TANF basic grants, supplemental grants, bonus funds, contingency funds, and other related programs through December 20, 2002. Signed into law September 30, 2002. Other “temporary extensions” of TANF grants were made in: P.L. 107-294, through March 30, 2003 (November 22, 2002); P.L. 108-7, through June 30, 2003 (February 20, 2003); P.L. 108-40, through September 30, 2003 (June 30, 2003); P.L. 108-89, through March 31, 2004 (October 1, 2003); P.L. 108-210, through June 30, 2004 (March 31, 2004); P.L. 108-262, through September 30, 2004 (June 30, 2004); P.L. 108-308, through March 31, 2005 (September 30, 2004); P.L. 109-4, through June 30, 2005 (March 25, 2005); and P.L. 109-19, through September 30, 2005 (July 1, 2005).
P.L. 108-199 rescinded all remaining unspent WTW formula grant funds, effectively ending the WTW grant program. Signed into law January 23, 2004.
P.L. 109-68 provided extra funding to help States provide benefits to families affected by Hurricane Katrina, allowing States to draw upon contingency funds to assist those displaced by the hurricane; allowing directly affected States to receive funds from the loan fund, with repayment of the loan forgiven; and suspending penalties for failure to meet certain requirements for States directly affected by the hurricane. Also, temporarily extended TANF grants through December 30, 2005. Signed into law September 21, 2005.
P.L. 109-161 extended TANF grants through March 30, 2006. Signed into law December 30, 2005.
P.L. 109-171, the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, extended most TANF grants through FY2010 (supplemental grants expire at the end of FY2008); eliminated TANF bonus funds; established competitive grants within TANF for healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood initiatives; revised the caseload reduction credit; and required HHS to issue regulations to develop definitions for the statutory activities that count toward the TANF work participation standards as well as verify work and participation in activities. February 8, 2006.
P.L. 110-275 included an extension of TANF supplemental grants through the end of FY2009. Signed into law July 15, 2008.
P.L. 111-5, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, established a $5 billion Emergency Contingency Fund (ECF) to reimburse states for increased costs associated with the 2007-9 recession for FY2009 and FY2010. The fund reimbursed states, territories, and tribes for 80 percent of the increased costs of basic assistance, non-recurrent short-term benefits, and subsidized employment. The law also permitted states to “freeze” caseload reduction credits at pre-recession levels, allowed states to use TANF reserve funds for any benefit or service (before it was restricted to assistance), and extended supplemental grants through the end of FY2010. Signed into law February 17, 2009.
P.L. 111-242, the first continuing appropriations resolution for FY2011, extended TANF funding through December 3, 2010. Signed into law September 30, 2010. P.L. 111-290, the second continuing resolution, continued TANF funding authority through December 18, 2010. Signed into law December 4, 2010.
P.L. 111-291, the Claims Resolution Act of 2010, extended basic TANF funding through the end of FY2011, September 30, 2011, but reduced funding for the contingency fund and provided supplemental grants only through June 30, 2011. Also required some additional reporting on work activities and TANF expenditures. Signed into law December 8, 2010.
P.L. 112-35, the Short-Term TANF Extension Act, extended basic TANF funding for three months, through December 31, 2011. No funding was provided for supplemental grants. Signed into law September 30, 2011.
P.L. 112-78, Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011, extended basic TANF funding for two months through February 29, 2012. Signed into law December 23, 2011.
P.L 112-96, Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, extended basic TANF funding for the remainder of FY2012 (to September 30, 2012). It also prevented electronic benefit transaction access to TANF cash at liquor stores, casinos, and strip clubs; states would be required to prohibit access to TANF cash at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) at such establishments. It also required states to report TANF data in a manner that facilitates the exchange of that data with other programs' data systems. Signed into law February 22, 2012.
P.L. 112-175, the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2013 extended TANF funding through March, 2013 at FY2012 levels. Signed into law September 28, 2012.
This page was prepared on October 15, 2012 for the 2012 version of the House Ways and Means Committee Green Book.