ADVISORY
FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

SUBCOMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES

Herger Announces Hearing on Strengthening Families and Promoting Healthy Marriage

Congressman Wally Herger (R-CA), Chairman, Subcommittee on Human Resources of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on strengthening families and promoting healthy marriage through welfare reform reauthorization.  The hearing will take place on Thursday, March 21, 2002, in room B-318 Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 11:00 a.m. 

In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only.  Witnesses will include administration officials, program administrators and participants, researchers, and other experts on marriage and family formation issues.  However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Subcommittee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.

 BACKGROUND:

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-193), commonly referred to as the 1996 Welfare Reform Law, made dramatic changes in the Federal-State welfare system designed to aid low-income American families.  The law repealed the former Aid to Families with Dependent Children program, and with it the individual entitlement to cash welfare benefits.  In its place, the 1996 legislation created a new Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant, which provides fixed funding to States to operate programs designed to achieve several purposes:  (1) provide assistance to needy families, (2) end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage, (3) prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies, and (4) encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.

Despite tremendous gains in several key areas of the law, including more than a 50 percent decline in national welfare caseloads and a 40 percent increase in employment among mothers most likely to depend on welfare, important challenges remain with respect to the goals of strengthening families, promoting healthy marriages, and reducing out-of-wedlock pregnancies.  Today, 1 out of every 3 births in this country occurs outside of marriage, including 7 out of 10 births to black mothers. 

The advantages for children raised by two married parents -- and the high hurdles generally faced by children raised by single parents -- are striking and unequivocal.  Children raised by two married parents are five times less likely to live in poverty and five times less likely to depend on welfare.  They also are much less likely to be involved in criminal activity, drop out of school, or have children outside of marriage themselves as adults. 

President Bush’s welfare reform reauthorization proposal offers significant resources in following through with the 1996 law’s intended initiatives to encourage the formation and maintenance of healthy marriages.  This hearing will provide an opportunity to examine these proposals in greater detail and to discuss promising approaches. 

In announcing the hearing, Chairman Herger stated: “Single moms have one of the toughest jobs in the world.  For single moms on welfare, it is even tougher.  Children living on welfare are among our most vulnerable.  Where healthy, two-parent, married families are possible, we should encourage them to form and stay strong, especially for children’s sake.  The President’s plan to provide $300 million per year to promote the formation and strengthening of healthy married families will bring needed resources and attention to this absolutely critical issue.”

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

The focus of the hearing is to review the President’s welfare reform reauthorization proposal as it relates to strengthening families and promoting healthy marriages.  The Subcommittee also will receive testimony on promising approaches aimed at encouraging and supporting healthy marriages. 

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:

Please Note:  Due to the change in House mail policy, any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should send it electronically to hearingclerks.waysandmeans@mail.house.gov, along with a fax copy to (202) 225-2610, by the close of business, Thursday, March 21, 2002.  Those filing written statements who wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing should deliver 200 copies to the Subcommittee on Human Resources in room B-317 Rayburn House Office Building, in an open and searchable package 48 hours before the hearing. The U.S. Capitol Police will refuse sealed-packaged deliveries to all House Office buildings.

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.   Due to the change in House mail policy, all statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted electronically to hearingclerks.waysandmeans@mail.house.gov, along with a fax copy to (202) 225-2610, in Word Perfect or MS Word format and MUST NOT exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments.  Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record. 

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.  Any statements must include a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.  A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers of each witness.

Note: All Committee advisories and news releases are available on the World Wide Web at http://waysandmeans.house.gov.

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) 226-3411 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.