December 12, 2003
The Honorable Bill Frist, Majority Leader
United States Senate, S-230
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Tom Daschle, Minority Leader
United States Senate, S-221
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Charles Grassley
Chair, Finance Committee
United States Senate, SD219
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Max Baucus
Ranking Member, Finance Committee
United States Senate, SD219
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senators Frist, Daschle, Grassley and Baucus:
In passing the CARE Act through the Senate earlier in the year, we believe one of the key provisions was the full restoration of funding for the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG). As you know, unlike many of the provisions in the bill that are scored for five and ten years, the SSBG provision is only a one-year full restoration, with a year ramp-up stage. Unfortunately, our House counterparts did not take the same approach, and the Senate SSBG provision will now be debated in conference. We ask your full support in making sure that the final version of the CARE Act sent to the President for his signature contains the full Senate SSBG language that includes the ten percent transfer authority from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to SSBG and the additional $1.375 billion in funding over a two-year period.
SSBG is a flexible block grant that addresses the needs of children and families, the elderly and vulnerable adults and helps them avoid more expensive government assistance by remaining in the community in the most independent setting possible. With a changing economy, and growing pressure on health care and human service budgets, using cost effective and flexible strategies to address these demands are not an option but a necessity. In this time of fiscal crisis, states, localities, and non-profit organizations can no longer sustain the over one billion dollars in SSBG cuts that they have been forced to absorb over the past few years.
Added to the already difficult circumstances states are facing, Congress and the Administration have sent a clear signal that faith-based and community organizations should have a stronger role in the delivery of social services. We agree this is an important part of serving the children, elderly, and disabled adults who depend on SSBG-funded programs and services. However, we also recognize that many of these organizations rely at least in part on SSBG funding, and increased demands on an already weakened system cannot be met without restoring the promised resources.
We understand that compromises are necessary to bring this bill to final passage. However, the SSBG provision passed by this chamber has already been compromised during earlier discussion around the legislation. Therefore, we ask your support in protecting this vital source of greatly needed social service funding to local communities by including the full Senate CARE Act language on SSBG in final legislation.
Sincerely,
Joe Lieberman (D-CT)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Bob Graham (D-FL)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Evan Bayh (D-IN)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
John B. Breaux (D-LA)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Thomas R. Carper (D-DE)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Jon S. Corzine (D-NJ)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Mark Dayton (D-MN)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Richard J. Durbin (D-IL)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
John Edwards (D-NC)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Russell D. Feingold (D-WI)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Tom Harkin (D-IA)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Earnest F. Hollings (D-SC)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
James M. Jeffords (I-VT)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Tim Johnson (D-SD)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
John F. Kerry (D-MA)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Herb Kohl (D-WI)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Mary L. Landrieu (D-LA)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Carl Levin (D-MI)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Blanche L. Lincoln (D-AR)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Patty Murray (D-WA)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Bill Nelson (D-FL)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Benjamin E. Nelson (D-NE)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Mark Pryor (D-AR)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Jack Reed (D-RI)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Paul S. Sarbanes (D-MD)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Charles E. Schumer (D-NY)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
UNITED STATES SENATOR
Ron Wyden (D-OR)
UNITED STATES SENATOR