During Tuesday’s House and Ways Committing hearing, Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) warned of Congressional Republicans' plans for cuts to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Thank you, Mr. Yacom. Now I recognize Ms. Chua, California.
00:03Thank you, Mr. Chair. Democrats agree that changes are needed to ensure TANF dollars aren't used for fraudulent purposes,
00:10like when Brett Favre and the state of Mississippi diverted millions meant for low-income families to fund a volleyball court at his daughter's college.
00:19But I find it very hard to believe Republicans are serious about addressing this.
00:23For example, the GAO has recommended that Congress give HHS the authority to collect additional TANF information from states.
00:33Democrats actually already introduced a bill to do exactly that, and it's called the TANF State Expenditure Integrity Act,
00:41led by Ranking Member Davis and me, and it would address what happened in Mississippi
00:47by finally giving the federal government authority over how states spend non-cash assistance funds,
00:53which is 80 percent of all TANF spending.
00:56But Republicans have declined to work with us to move this bill forward,
01:00which is shocking considering all this talk about fraud, waste, and abuse.
01:06We've also heard several GAO recommendations for how HHS and federal TANF staff can better monitor and prevent fraud,
01:14but those were pretty hard to be able to implement after Secretary Kennedy and Elon Musk Doge fired the entire TANF policy division,
01:26along with most of the TANF program integrity staff, last week.
01:31They fired the very staff responsible for monitoring TANF fraud
01:37and shut down half of HHS's regional offices throughout the country,
01:43which investigated fraud, waste, and abuse on the ground.
01:49And yet, we haven't heard a peep from our Republican colleagues about this.
01:54They refuse to even question these firings.
01:57So, let me say, it's clear that Republicans in Congress aren't interested in genuine reform to improve program integrity.
02:07So, why are they really holding this hearing?
02:10Well, we know they want to pass a reconciliation bill to give tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy.
02:18And how will they do it?
02:21By proposing massive cuts to programs like Medicaid and, yes, TANF.
02:26But to cut a program, they first try to discredit it.
02:30And that's been their playbook over and over again, and that's why we are here today.
02:36Republicans are simply trying to set the stage to make devastating cuts to TANF.
02:41Now, TANF is not a perfect program, but it is a lifeline for low-income families
02:48and a vital source of child care and child welfare funding in many states.
02:54But Republicans want to take this money directly out of the pockets of the most vulnerable children and families
03:00and hand it over to the ultra-wealthy.
03:05It's shameful, and Democrats won't stand for it.
03:08And Republicans have been silent on the Trump administration's recent cancellation
03:14of five TANF pilots authorized by Congress two years ago in a bipartisan manner.
03:22These pilots were testing new and better ways to promote work
03:27and improve outcomes for families receiving TANF assistance.
03:31And we're going to inform Congress on how to reform TANF so it's more effective
03:37in helping families achieve long-term stability.
03:41After a thorough selection process, five states were awarded a pilot,
03:46including my home state of California.
03:48But last month, HHS Secretary Kennedy abruptly canceled everything.
03:54And Ms. Summerlott, Ohio was one of those five states awarded the TANF pilot,
04:02which the administration canceled.
04:05Can you share more about what Ohio had planned to do with this pilot
04:09and why this would have been important for families and children in your state?
04:13Yes, Chairman LaHood, Representative Chu, thank you.
04:21Yes, Ohio's pilot design was designed to build upon the framework
04:28that other programs and other pilots, like the Benefit Bridge, have been using.
04:34And that would have allowed us to scale those statewide.
04:38Currently, we have 12 counties that are operating with that framework
04:44and using a holistic approach to look at the entire person's life
04:50and strengthening each domain of that life to ensure that once they get a job,
04:55they can keep it and they can keep going.
04:58So the lost opportunity to scale was certainly a surprise.
05:04Thank you. I yield back.