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Urging the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare to take immediate action to draw down all of the funds allotted to Pennsylvania under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Fund and further calling on the U.S. Congress to extend the deadline for the use of such funds for an additional year in order to ensure that low income Philadelphians have maximum access to stimulus resources.
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WHEREAS, The federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) created a new Emergency Fund under the TANF block grant to provide 80% federal reimbursement for expenditures in three areas: (1) subsidized employment including job training, summer youth jobs programs, and paid work experience (PWE), (2) non-recurring short-term benefits such as for emergency shelter, utilities, and winter clothing, and (3) caseload increases; and
WHEREAS, As of January 14, 2010, Pennsylvania was eligible for approximately $360 million in TANF stimulus money, but had only drawn down less than $30 million, or 8% of the available funds; and
WHEREAS, Based on past expenditures and TANF eligibility, approximately $144 million, or 44% of these unspent TANF stimulus funds, would be utilized by Philadelphia residents; and
WHEREAS, The use of TANF stimulus funds is not limited to people on welfare since direct assistance and subsidized employment can support families with children under 235% of poverty, which includes many working class Philadelphians; and
WHEREAS, TANF stimulus programs supporting paid work experience (PWE) are extremely valuable to persons facing barriers to employment, particularly people with minimal job experience or prior criminal records; and
WHEREAS, TANF stimulus dollars are an effective tool for economic recovery since money available to lower income households will result in millions of dollars being spent in the local economy; and
WHEREAS, The TANF Emergency Fund requires states to provide a 20% match in order to draw down the federal TANF funds, but the match will provide exponential returns on expenditure; and
WHEREAS, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania can meet the 20% match through a variety of realistic measures such as in-kind contributions to job programs in the form of supervision and program development, or through additional short-term revenue sources such as forgiveness of City tax and utility arrearages; and
WHEREAS, The TANF Emergency Fund is currently set to expire on September 30, 2010, and all funds not drawn down by states are to be returned to the U.S. Treasury, unless legislation to extend the deadline is enacted; and
WHEREAS, According to the Center for Law and Social Policy, many subsidized job programs are unlikely to continue unless the TANF Emergency Fund is extended because of the current strain on state and local budgets; now therefore
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That it hereby urges the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare to take immediate action to draw down all of the funds allotted to Pennsylvania under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Fund and further calls on the U.S. Congress to extend the deadline for the use of such funds for an additional year in order to ensure that low income Philadelphians have maximum access to stimulus resources.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Department of Public Welfare, the Governor or the Commonwealth, President Obama and all Members of the Pennsylvania Congressional delegation as evidence of the grave concern of this legislative body.
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