FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 19, 1997
No. HR-2
Congressman E. Clay Shaw, Jr., (R-FL), Chairman, Subcommittee on Human Resources of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on suggestions for technical corrections that need to be made in the recently enacted welfare reform legislation. The hearing will take place on Wednesday, February 26, 1997, in room B-318 Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 2:00 p.m.
Oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. Witnesses will include representatives of the Administration, governors, state legislators, program administrators, and advocates. Any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance is encouraged to submit a written statement for consideration by the Subcommittee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND
Last year, Congress passed and President Clinton signed legislation (P.L. 104-193) that substantially reformed the nation's welfare policy. Major programs or program areas under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means that were reformed include: the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program; the Supplemental Security Income program; the Child Support Enforcement program; welfare policy for noncitizens; and child care policy.
Section 113 of the legislation required the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Commissioner of Social Security to submit to the Committee within 90 days of enactment a legislative proposal for technical and conforming amendments "to bring the law into conformity with the policy embodied" in the legislation. The Subcommittee, in consultation with the Administration and the Senate Finance Committee, is now reviewing the proposal submitted by the Secretary. Only items that are purely technical are being considered as part of this corrections package.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Shaw stated: "The new welfare reform law enacted last year was important and far-reaching. We want to be sure that any purely technical errors in the drafting of the statutes created by the magnitude of last year's changes are quickly cleared up by technical corrections legislation. The Administration did an excellent job of preparing the first draft. In consultation with the Administration and our counterparts in the Senate, we hope to develop a thorough technical corrections bill."
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit at least six (6) copies of their statement and a 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or ASCII format, with their address and date of hearing noted, by the close of business, Wednesday, March 12, 1997, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Human Resources office, room B-317 Rayburn House Office Building, at least one hour before the hearing begins.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be typed in single space on legal-size paper and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. At the same time written statements are submitted to the Committee, witnesses are now requested to submit their statements on a 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or ASCII format.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, full address, a telephone number where the witness or the designated representative may be reached and a topical outline or summary of the comments and recommendations in the full statement. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The
Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with
disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please
call 202-225-1721 or 202-225-1904 TTD/TTY in advance of the event
(four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to
special accommodation needs in general (including availability of
Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the
Committee as noted above.