John Spratt: “I rise today to voice grave concerns about this bill. This bill reflects a steady erosion of the federal government's…”

“I rise today to voice grave concerns about this bill. This bill reflects a steady erosion of the federal government's commitment to provide a safety net for low-income working families. States now face a severe fiscal crisis due to the slack economy. This bill imposes expensive new requirements on states, without providing sufficient funding to help states meet these requirements. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the additional costs to states of meeting the increased work requirements in this bill are between eight billion and eleven billion dollars over five years. This bill largely mirrors the welfare plan that President Bush first put forth last year and proposed again this year. The President's 2004 budget makes clear that the President's welfare plan is just one part of a larger drive to abandon the Federal government's traditional role of providing a safety net for society's most vulnerable members. The budget also includes plans to recast several other major federal programs for low-income individuals and families as block grants to states. The President offers states increased program flexibility and administrative streamlining, but requires in exchange that states give up the traditional assurance that future federal funding will keep pace with the estimated need for these programs.”