Government Watchdog Findings: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program In Need of Reform, Better State Accountability, and Fraud Protection
House Subcommittee on Work and Welfare
2025-04-08
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Source: Congress.gov
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state audit findings that have gone unaddressed over multiple years, an absence of meaningful performance metrics, and increasing state use of TANF for child welfare with few accountability measures. TANF was created nearly 30 years ago as part of the historic Republican-led welfare reforms of 1996. Thanks to work requirements and time limits, basic assistance caseloads have declined. allowing states to shift TANF spending to non-assistance. The problem is that TANF has not been reauthorized since 2005, but continues to receive funding on autopilot. Congress must revisit the program. not only to modernize TANF as part of a comprehensive reauthorization, but to make necessary reforms to recognize the shift to non-assistant spending to improve accountability. My belief is that we need to reclaim TANF for work, do a better job of targeting funding towards the more vulnerable families, to the most vulnerable families, and restore the program to its original I know many of my colleagues on this subcommittee share these views and have introduced legislation to make some of these changes. On its current path, TANF is failing beneficiaries who need economic security, and it's also failing taxpayers whose money should be spent intentionally and strategically to support work. By modernizing the program while ensuring that it continues to serve those who rely on it, we can reduce dependency and empower Americans uplift themselves. I'm honored to have our guests here today and look forward to your testimony. And with that, I'm pleased to recognize the gentleman from Illinois, the ranking member, and my friend, Representative Davis, for his opening statement. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and I want to thank you for this hearing. I also want to thank all of our witnesses for coming and sharing with us.
I greatly appreciate our subcommittee's bipartisan work on home visiting and child welfare in particular. But I can't sit here this afternoon and pretend that this hearing is anything but a preemptive justification to support cuts that will keep struggling families struggling and secure the wealthiest and most secure people in our country. Nor can I ignore that our Republican partners remained silent while Secretary Kennedy took Elon Musk's chainsaw to the Department of Health and Human Services. put in implementation of all our work at risk. If our goal is truly to discuss TANF reform, why do my Republican colleagues continue promising deep cuts in TANF and similar programs like the Social Services Block Grant to pay for tax giveaways to the wealthy? Cutting TANF funding will cut child care, child welfare services, and help for struggling parents, making the lives of children and families worse, not better. If the goal is to make TANF accountable, I urge my colleagues to support the bill Representative Chu and I introduced give HHS the tools they need to penalize states for gross malfeasance. State accountability was left out of the original law by design of its Republican drafters, and only Congress can fix that. If accountability is important, I urge my colleagues to join me in calling on President Trump
to withdraw his nomination of Thomas March Bell for HHS Inspector General, given that he was fired from a previous job for mishandling taxpayer dollars. Focusing on the minutia of TANF policy seemed to sidestep our subcommittee's obligation to ask more important questions. Are families better off than they were four months ago? And will the Republican Congress provide the supports Americans need to survive the recession and harm caused by the Trump policies? Unfortunately, the answer is a resounding no. The Trump tariff tax is making the cost of basic necessities like food, housing, and utilities spike, while savings and retirement balances have plummeted by trillions of dollars, while retirees fear their survival as President Trump and Elon Musk work to dismantle the Social Security Administration. I appreciate the work of the experts here before us, and I thank you. But focusing on narrow process issues Instead of protecting the people we represent from cruel and chaotic policies, it's like focusing on the details of a fire truck while the house burns down. Seniors, children, and families need us to act to protect them. I thank you, Mr. Chairman, and yield back. Thank you, Mr. Davis. I will now introduce our witnesses. I'll go from my left to right. First is Jeffrey Arkin, is the director of the GAO Strategic Issues Team. Next is Kathy Lahren, who is the director of the GAO Education Workforce and Income Security Team.
Next, James Dalkin is the Director of the GAO Financial Management and Assurance Team. Next is Seto Bagdoyan is the Director of the GAO Forensic Audits and Investigative Services Team. And lastly, is Roxanne Summerlett, who is the Director of the Marion County Department of Job and Family Services in Marion, Ohio. We'll first start with you, Mr. Arkin, and you're now recognized for five minutes for your opening statement. Chairman LaHood, Ranking Member Davis, and members of the subcommittee, thank you for inviting GAO to speak at today's hearing. Today, GAO issued the final report in a series of reviews of TANF spending and oversight.
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