Latest news with #TANF
Wall Street Journal
16-07-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
If Clinton's Welfare Reform Was Big, Trump's Is Huge
In passing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the Republican Congress set a new gold standard for welfare reform. Some conservatives say the GOP has gone wobbly on work. The reality is that even the 1996 reform that created the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program—which by 2005 had shrunk the TANF caseload by nearly 60% by moving able-bodied adults into work—pales in comparison with what this month's reconciliation bill achieves. It is easily the biggest welfare reform in U.S. history. Unlike past reforms, the reconciliation bill focused on the core of the welfare state. TANF's predecessor, Aid to Families With Dependent Children, often trapped families in dependency for generations. Fixing it was necessary. But the 1996 reforms still ignored the biggest drivers of welfare's growth. Federal welfare spending has increased by an inflation-adjusted 170% since then, largely driven by able-bodied adults leaving the workforce to receive Medicaid and food stamps. Those programs now have, respectively, about 83 million and 42 million recipients. By contrast, AFDC had around 14 million enrollees before the 1996 reforms. Republicans are now tackling this moral and fiscal crisis. The reconciliation reforms will likely move at least twice as many people off welfare as the 1996 reform did. These include the first-ever Medicaid work requirement. Thanks to President Trump and Congress, able-bodied adults without children, as well as adults with children 14 and older, will now have to work, volunteer, train or go to school at least part time as a condition of receiving taxpayers' help. My organization, the Foundation for Government Accountability, estimates that this requirement will cover at least 10 million people. Millions will leave Medicaid as their incomes rise.
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore announces new energy assistance benefits
BALTIMORE — Households in Maryland struggling with rising utility costs will receive increased energy assistance benefits this year, Maryland Governor Wes Moore announced Thursday. The expanded aid comes from increased appropriations for the Strategic Energy Investment Fund, which is a state reserve made up of fines paid by utility companies for falling short of renewable energy requirements. Electric assistance will now range from $250 to $1,000 per household — up from a maximum of $575 last year. Gas benefits will rise from last year's maximum of $300 to between $300 and $550. 'At a time when the federal government is passing dangerous, heartless legislation to cut assistance for working families, we are standing in the breach,' Moore said in a release. 'We will not waver in our work to protect our people and leave no one behind.' Households already enrolled in SNAP, SSI, TANF or income-based veterans benefits are automatically eligible for the benefits. As of May, over 156,000 households have applied for energy assistance this fiscal year, with over 117,000 approved, according to the release. ------------
CBS News
04-07-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Maryland is increasing energy assistance benefits, Gov. Moore announces
Eligible Marylanders will start seeing increased energy assistance benefits, Gov. Wes Moore announced on Thursday. The energy assistance program, through the Maryland Department of Human Services Office of Home Energy Programs, will assist families as energy rates continue to increase. Gov. Moore says the assistance program is in response to residents saying these rates are getting out of hand. "At a time when the federal government is passing dangerous, heartless legislation to cut assistance for working families, we are standing in the breach," Gov. Moore said. "Not a day goes by without me hearing from Marylanders calling for support tackling the rising cost of energy we see nationwide. Today, we extend a hand to them as a critical part of our work to make Maryland more affordable. We will not waver in our work to protect our people and leave no one behind." Who is eligible and how to apply A household receiving between $130 and $575 in electric benefits last year will now receive between $250 and $1,000, and a household receiving between $150 and $301 in gas benefits last year will now receive between $300 and $550 in Fiscal Year 2026, the governor's office said. Residents that are already receiving the following benefits are automatically eligible: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); Supplemental Security Income (SSI); Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); and Income-Based Veterans Affairs Benefits. New applications for energy assistance are now available. Marylanders who are not automatically eligible are invited to apply at "With rising temperatures and soaring energy costs, too many Marylanders are worried about keeping their homes safe and liveable year-round," said Maryland Department of Human Services Secretary Rafael López. "We will do all we can to step up and support families who must choose between buying groceries and paying their electricity bills." Push to stop BGE's multi-year rate hike On Thursday, Baltimore City leaders pushed Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE) to end its multi-year rate hikes and pipeline program. Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen joined labor union leaders and advocates to deliver petitions to the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) and BGE. BGE raised its rates on January 1, 2025, increasing the average residential gas bill by 9% and the electric bill by 7%. During the winter, Maryland households reported some of their highest gas bills ever. BGE's Operation Pipeline program aims to upgrade hundreds of miles of natural gas pipes and equipment across Maryland by replacing cast iron and bare steel pipes with new, more durable materials. The company argued that the rising bills are due to weather, demand, and state fees, not the company's rate plan. BGE Spokesperson Nick Alexopoulos said, "Getting rid of the multi-year plan process does not provide rate relief. We still need to make those investments in the system for our customers and for our communities." Cohen said 7,221 Baltimore residents signed the postcard petitions calling for a stop to the plan. "This is what it looks like when thousands of Baltimoreans lift their voices up together to say enough is enough," Cohen said Thursday, while holding a bag of the petitions. BGE would not take petitions As Cohen tried to deliver the petitions to BGE, a representative for the company said they would not take them and instead called out Cohen for refusing to meet with the company's president. "You actually had an opportunity this week to pass them directly to Tamla had you taken her meeting, so we were disappointed you refused to meet with her face-to-face to have this type of conversation," the company representative said during the exchange. "These, we can't accept for security purposes; these do have to be mailed in." Cohen said he did not want to meet with CEO Tamla Olivier unless BGE came with a plan to support residents. "It is about them making a decision to come with rate relief," Cohen said.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
State plans to decrease its payments to the needy
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The South Dakota Department of Social Services has announced its intention to cut by 10% the amount of welfare aid paid to several thousand households receiving public assistance. DSS will hold a public hearing on Friday, June 20, at 11:00 a.m. CT at state government's new One Stop Center at 1501 S. Highline Avenue in Sioux Falls. The number of South Dakota families receiving payments from the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program varies month to month, according to DSS statistics. In April, the most recent month for which data was publicly reported, there were 2,487 families. That was down from a 12-month high of 2,567 in October. New Spring Creek owner shares golf course plans The department's proposed TANF cuts come at the same time that the Legislature gave state government employees a 1.25% pay raise that takes effect July 1. State aid to K-12 education and for health-care providers will rise 1.25% as well. DSS officials say the proposed cuts result from the Legislature reducing the department's general funding for the coming year by $5.3 million. Actually, then-Gov. Kristi Noem had recommended in her December budget proposal a $5,168,200 general-fund reduction for the economic assistance division in DSS that oversees TANF payments. The department, in turn, planned to use a similar additional amount of federal funds as an offset, according to page 20 of a presentation made on January 21 to the Legislature's Joint Committee on Appropriations. That presentation referred to the maneuver as 'Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Fund Swap.' The document made no mention of any proposed cut to TANF payments. The department's then-chief financial officer, Jason Simmons, didn't speak about it either. 'This year, in working with the governor's office and BFM (Bureau of Finance and Management), with revenues down and having to fund things like FMAP (federal medical assistance percentage) change and different things, our directive is to spend down some of that carryover. So this would be more of a temporary solution,' Simmons told the committee. He continued, 'This is not something that we're going to be able to do for many, many years, but it's something we can do in a pinch for a few years to get us through, to spend down that carryover and continue to deliver these services.' Five minutes later, DSS Secretary Matt Althoff expanded on those remarks. Responding to a question from Democratic Rep. Erik Muckey, Althoff said, 'We're going to examine our benefits and say, Is there a way we can reduce those as well? So we'll continue to look at that. We've got a preliminary plan that, as recommended, would take effect July first.' One of the panel's co-chairs, Republican Rep. Mike Derby, asked Simmons to go through the mechanics of the TANF fund swap one more time. Simmons explained that money left over from the federal block grant that the department receives each year can be placed in a carryover account. Simmons said the department gets $21.2 million of federal funds each year and state government puts in $8.5 million for a total TANF funding of $29.7 million. At the end of fiscal 2024, the department had $23.4 million of carryover funds available. Simmons said the plan was to tap the federal carryover to offset reductions in state general funds, spending the oldest layer of federal funds first. Noem's $34,665,498 recommendation of general funds for the new budget year that starts July 1 would have returned the division's general funding to roughly the $34,415,895 actually spent in 2024. State lawmakers in March ultimately appropriated $34,517,352 of general funds to the economic assistance division for the 2026 budget year. That was slightly more than the amount actually spent in 2024 and slightly less than the amount Noem had recommended. Asked Monday about the proposed TANF cuts, Republican Sen. Ernie Otten told KELOLAND News that he expects to see the department make reductions in other areas too. Otten and Derby co-chair the Legislature's Joint Committee on Appropriations that assembles state government's budget each year. DSS never came back to the committee with a detailed plan or a change from what they presented, according to information that Derby received from the Legislature's chief fiscal analyst Jeff Mehlhaff and forwarded on Tuesday to KELOLAND News. Mehlhaff told Derby, 'We have reached out to the Secretary of DSS multiple times with no response.' An average of 2,460 households per month received TANF payments during the 2024 budget year, according to the DSS fiscal note that was prepared for the proposed 10% cut. The average monthly amount was $518.06. Altogether, those payments totaled $15,293,131.20 in annual TANF costs, the department said, and a reduction of 10% from the current TANF payment standards equals $1,529,313.12. A statement signed by Secretary Althoff says the proposed financial cuts in TANF payments would have 'no impact' on small businesses. 'TANF is a needs-based program for families with children under age 18 (or under age 19 if the child is in high school) who need financial support because of the death of a parent; a parent is absent from the home; or the physical or mental incapacity or unemployment of a with serious financial needs may qualify for TANF monthly payments,' the statement says. Public comments at the June 20 hearing about the TANF reductions can be made in person at the Sioux Falls One Stop Center or by telephone at 1-605-679-7263 and using conference code 183 579 146 #. Written public comments can be sent through June 30 to Teresa Schulte, Administrative Rules C219, Department of Social Services, 1501 S. Highline Ave., Sioux Falls, SD 57110 or can be emailed to DSSAdminRules@ Many lawmakers also were upset during the 2025 legislative session after learning about the Noem administration's decisions to enter long-term leases for new One Stop centers in Sioux Falls and Rapid City. Most of state government's local offices including those of DSS in the two communities have since moved to the centers. Noem resigned as governor in January after she received U.S. Senate confirmation as the new federal Homeland Security secretary. After she left, the Legislature unanimously adopted a new law requiring lawmakers' approval of any lease longer than 15 years and costing more than $5 million in total or more than $50,000 per month. Leases for One Stop centers in Sioux Falls and Rapid City are for 30 years and will cost an estimated $200 million more during that time than had state government continued with previous leases for locations scattered throughout the communities. The new law however doesn't apply to any past lease agreements. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Kokua Line: Are needy Hawaii kids getting summer food money?
Question : Last summer kids on SNAP got money for over the summer. Will they do this again this summer ? Answer : Yes. You are referring to the SUN Bucks program, also known as Summer EBT, which is underway and remains open for applications, according to the state Department of Human Services. Many school-aged children, including those in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, automatically qualified for SUN Bucks ; their households did not need to apply. A mainland vendor began mailing SUN Bucks electronic benefit transfer cards to those children starting the week of May 19, with delivery expected to take two to three weeks, according to DHS. If your household qualified for automatic enrollment but has not received the $177 benefit per child, you may call the SUN Bucks customer serv ice line toll-free at 1-888-975-SEBT (7328 ) to ensure your correct mailing address is on file. 'We are using the mailing address based on the child's school records, or the household's mailing address per their SNAP or TANF case, if the household participates or has participated in those programs. If families believe we may have incorrect mailing information ' they should call the aforementioned number to report the change of address, according to the DHS website. Families whose children were not automatically enrolled but who meet the requirements still have time to apply. Go to to apply online or to download a paper application and for eligibility details, including household income cutoffs. Note that 'households that applied for, and were determined eligible for, Summer 2024 during the period of July 1, 2024, through August 4, 2024, do not need to submit an application for Summer 2025. The same Summer 2024 application will be used to determine eligibility for Summer 2025, ' DHS says. The program, which is funded by the state of Hawaii and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is meant to ensure that school-age children who usually eat breakfast and lunch at school have access to healthy food during the summer break. According to Human Services, school-aged children are automatically eligible for SUN Bucks (no application required ) if :—The child's household participated in SNAP or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families in any month from July 1, 2024, through Aug. 3, 2025 ; or—The child has been identified as a ward of the state (foster child ), or identified by their school as homeless, migrant, or runaway ; or—The child attended a school that offers the National School Lunch Program, and their household applied for and was approved for free or reduced-price school meals. School-aged is defined as 'a child who will have arrived at the age of at least 5 years on or before July 31 of the school year, and who will not have arrived at the age of 18 years, by Jan. 1 of any school year.' Exceptions allow SUN Bucks benefits for some younger children, including those in Head Start. See the DHS website for details. Q : As we approach the second anniversary of the Maui fires, I am wondering how much that one big fund ended up collecting and if they've spent it all ? A : Nearly $210 million has been donated to the Maui Strong Fund (including interest earned ), of which about $141 million has been awarded and committed to grantees, according to the Hawaii Community Foundation, which administers the fund. Read about specific grants on the HCF website, . The fund provides financial resources for the immediate and long-term needs of people and places affected by that devastated Lahaina and also ravaged Kula.------------Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 2-200, Honolulu, HI 96813 ; call 808-529-4773 ; or email.------------
