USCCB legislative briefs

In session
October 2003

Bono, bishops call for full funding for Africa
USCCB legislative briefs
USCCB urges vote against 'mini-nuke' research

USCCB legislative briefs

Faith-Based Initiative
The USCCB will support legislation that would provide faith-based and community-based groups new resources to serve the poor, while preserving the Title VII (Civil Rights) exemption for religious groups. The Senate passed the Charity Aid, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Act of 2003 (S. 476) passed on 4/9/03. The CARE Act includes $1.3 billion in new funding for the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), used by states to fund faith-based and community groups ’ service to working families, abused and abandoned children, persons with disabilities and the frail elderly. The House of Representatives passed its companion bill, The Charitable Giving Act (H.R. 7), on 9/17/03, but did not include the SSBG funding. A conference committee will work out the differences between the two bills and the USCCB supports inclusion of SSBG in the final bill.

Reauthorization of TANF
(Temporary Assistance to Needy Families)
The USCCB will support provisions in the reauthorization of the TANF that help families leave welfare for meaningful work; strengthen marriage and family life; and sustain the needy, especially children and immigrants. On 2/13/03, the House passed welfare reauthorization legislation which the USCCB was unable to support. The Senate Finance Committee on 9/10/03 passed its version of the bill. While the Senate bill begins to move in the right direction, it still falls short of USCCB priorities in several ways. It continues to deny benefits to legal immigrants; it doesn’t include enough new child care funding; it increases required work hours; and it doesn’t expand the time that states can count genuine education and training as work.

TANF is set to expire on 9/30/03. Congress will not complete its reauthorization work by then. In response, on 9/24/03 the House of Representatives passed a free standing bill extending current TANF law for six months. The Senate is expected to follow suit. This extension will make no changes in TANF, meaning that while there has been no increase in work requirements, states are going to continue to be denied any additional flexibility in providing benefits for immigrants. While Congress could finish its work amending TANF by the end of this year, the Congressional debate over TANF may not conclude until next year.

Refundable Child Tax Credit (RCTC)
In 2001, as part of the Tax Cuts Reconciliation Bill (H.R. 1836—PL 107-16), Congress doubled the then $500 per child tax credit over ten years, beginning with $600 in 2001, $700 in '05, $800 in '09, and $1000 in '10. Part of it was refundable, that is, if the amount is greater than the income tax owed, the tax payer receives the difference. The partially RCTC is calculated at 10 percent of the taxpayer's income over $10,000 in 2001, and phased to 15 percent of income over $10,000 (indexed to cost of living) in 2005.

When completely phased in the RCTC would lift a half-million children out of poverty. The Economic Stimulus Package (H.R. 2) considered in May 2003, included accelerating the child tax credit to $1000 this year. But only the Senate version accelerated the RCTC as well, to 15 percent, this year. The Senate provision was dropped in Conference and not included in the final bill, PL 108-27. On 6/5/03, the Senate passed H.R. 1308, accelerating the RCTC. The House on 6/12/03 passed a larger, $82 billion tax bill that included the accelerated RCTC (though low-income families would have to wait until 2004 for payment). H.R. 1308 is in Conference and the conferees remain deadlocked.

On 6/12/03, the House instructed the Conferees to accept the Senate language on a 205-201 vote. Since then, thru 9/10/03, there have been over ten additional motions in the House to instruct Conferees to accept the Senate language and all have failed. On 9/17/03, Rep. Neal (MA) offered a motion to H.R. 7, the Charitable Giving Act, to recommit the bill and report it back with an amendment that included the Senate child tax credit language. It was defeated 201-221.

Senate skips vote on district scholarship program
Republicans withdrew a school voucher plan for the District of Columbia from the Senate floor September 30 amid partisan recriminations, acknowledging that they lacked the 60 votes needed to carry the controversial, $13 million program over a threatened Democratic filibuster. GOP leaders blamed Democratic obstructionism, a crush of pressing business—in particular, President Bush's $87 billion request for Iraqi aid—and an 11-day recess that starts October 3 for giving up on passing the federal voucher plan for now. They vowed to return to the proposal later this month, probably by rolling the measure into an omnibus federal spending bill that would force Democrats to risk a broader showdown if they insist on stalling the voucher plan.

The retreat dealt at least a temporary setback to the first-in-the-nation federal voucher program, a proposal to give at least 1,700 District schoolchildren in low-income families grants of as much as $7,500 to attend private or parochial schools. The Senate had been expected to vote on the D.C. scholarship program on September 29. The scholarship program is part of the DC appropriations bill. A similar measure passed the U.S. House of Representatives on September 9.

The Archdiocese of Washington is strongly supportive of the measure and is urging Senators to vote in favor of including a D.C. scholarship program in the bill.

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