Jack Reed on Welfare & Poverty Democratic Sr Senator (RI)

Supports workfare; child support; programs for needy

Supports the following principles concerning welfare:
• Strengthen child support collection procedures and increase penalties for parents who do not pay child support.
• Impose a two-year limit on welfare benefits for recipients who are able to work.
• Require welfare recipients to accept some form of government-sponsored job after two years if unemployed in the private sector.
• Require that unwed teenage mothers live with a parent or guardian (if possible) and attend school to receive benefits.
• Limit the benefits given to single women if they have additional children while receiving welfare benefits.
• Provide child care services to welfare recipients who work or attend school.
• Provide rent or housing supplement vouchers for low-income families.
• Increase funding of programs that prevent teen pregnancy and family break-up.
• Support programs that give incentives for employers to hire and train welfare recipients.

Establish a National Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

Establishes the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund in the Treasury to promote the development of affordable low-income housing through grants to States and local jurisdictions.

Fully fund AmeriCorps.

To: President George W. Bush

Dear President Bush:

We write to express our strong support for AmeriCorps and recognize the leadership you have shown on this issue over the years. We know you agree that AmeriCorps is an outstanding program which has proven successful in addressing our homeland security needs, leveraging volunteers, and improving the quality of services available to a broad range of Americans.

Unfortunately, as you know, the Corporation for National Service officially announced yesterday unprecedented and drastic funding cuts, from 50 to 95 percent in every state. These cuts mean that under the State Competitive funding stream the Corporation will only fund 2,036 volunteers, compared with 11,236 last year. Many states will see their volunteer allocations under the competitive stream drop by as much as 90 percent and 16 states are shut out completely.

In your 2002 State of the Union address, you called for every American to dedicate 4,000 hours to community service throughout their lives. In your 2004 budget request, you proposed increasing the number of AmeriCorps volunteers from 50,000 to 75,000. Unfortunately, due to serious errors made by the Corporation, fewer than half this number of Americans will be allowed to serve their country through service.

We should support, not oppose, efforts to encourage more Americans to enter public service. We should do everything in our power to reward the American men and women who have chosen to serve the country and their communities in the hope of meeting the nation's critical education, safety, health, and homeland security needs.

We urge you to request additional funding in the supplemental appropriations bill to ensure that AmeriCorps remains a strong and vital program today and in the future.

Increase the earned income tax credit.

Provisions Relating to Earned Income Credit: Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the supplemental young child credit and revise and increase the earned income credit.

Fully fund Head Start; Job Corps; and WIC food program.

Making appropriations to begin a phase-in toward full funding of the special supplemental food program for women, infants and children (WIC) and of Head Start programs, and to expand the Job Corps program for the year ending September 30, 1994.