Ayotte Helps Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Assist Low-Income Families Through Employment, Education

Press Release

This week, U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte joined Senators Angus King (I-ME), Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) to introduce the EMPOWER (Enhancing and Modernizing Pathways to Opportunity Through Work, Education, and Responsibility) Act. The EMPOWER Act would update the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program and tailor it to better fit the needs of low-income families as they work to become more economically self-sufficient.

"I'm proud to introduce the EMPOWER Act with my colleagues so we can work together to provide opportunities for individuals in New Hampshire and across the country to get out of poverty," said Senator Ayotte. "As we care for one another, it's imperative that we provide state and local governments and communities with all the tools they need to empower individuals and help lift them out of poverty. Our legislation would update the Temporary Assistance for Needy Family (TANF) program to connect more adults with training and work experience they need to move them out of poverty and encourage states to focus on delivering results for low income families and children."

The EMPOWER (Enhancing and Modernizing Pathways to Opportunity Through Work, Education, and Responsibility) Act would reauthorize and reform TANF to reflect changes in the American economy and the challenges facing poor families seeking to move up the economic ladder. More specifically, the legislation would modernize TANF to better provide more targeted support for low-income families and their children, connect more adults to the education and job training that can lift them out of poverty, and encourage states to focus on delivering results for low-income families and children.

Specifically, the legislation would:

* Refocus TANF's purposes by adding the goals of reducing deep child poverty and increasing employment entry, retention, and advancement to the program's purposes.

* Remove TANF's marriage penalty by eliminating the program's disincentives to serve two-parent families, which discourage marriage and the formation of two-parent households.

* Increase work participation of TANF recipients by restricting the use of the caseload reduction credit and limiting work supplement payments to those payments that promote transitions to work.

* Streamline work participation activities by eliminating convoluted work activity definitions, reducing states' administrative burden, expanding the opportunity to participate in education and job training, and improving access to job preparation activities.

* Targeting TANF funds by asking states to focus on families most in need and increasing the percentage of funds that are devoted to the program's core purposes.

* Tracking and reporting results by asking states to set annual goals related to improving job placement among former TANF recipients as well as success in serving eligible low-income children and their families.