The TANF Emergency Contingency Fund (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised Dec. 22, 2010 |
| Report Number |
R41078 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Gene Falk, Specialist in Social Policy |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA; P.L. 111-5) created a $5 billion Emergency Contingency Fund (ECF) within the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant to help states, Indian tribes, and the territories pay for additional economic aid to families during the current economic downturn. It was part of a package of tax and benefit program provisions aimed at stemming the decline in family incomes and purchasing power caused by increased unemployment. The ECF was a temporary fund for two years, FY2009 and FY2010, and expired on September 30, 2010. All of the available $5 billion was awarded by the fund's expiration date to states, tribes, and territories.
Though the economy grew in the last half of 2009 and the first three quarters of 2010, unemployment remained high. Historically, the trend in the cash welfare caseload has sometimes followed economic conditions, but sometimes not. After the 1990-1991 recession, welfare caseloads actually peaked in March 1994 before beginning their decline. The 111th Congress considered legislation in 2010 to extend the ECF beyond September 30, 2010. However, though the House twice passed bills to extend the ECF, none of these measures received Senate approval. A provision of the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-291) extended the basic TANF program through the end of FY2011 without the ECF.
TANF is best known for funding cash welfare payments for low-income families, but it actually provides funds for a wide range of benefits and services to ameliorate the effects of, or address the root causes of, economic disadvantage among families with children. While TANF funds a wide range of both economic aid and human services to families with children, the ECF was limited to funding three categories of expenditures: basic assistance, a category that most closely resembles traditional cash welfare; non-recurrent short-term (e.g., emergency) aid; and subsidized employment. These categories typically are those that provide direct aid to families, rather than fund services. States, Indian tribes, and the territories were reimbursed 80% of the costs of increased expenditures in these categories. To qualify for ECF grants for increased basic assistance expenditures, a state, tribe, or territory had to aid more families on its assistance rolls than it did in FY2007 or FY2008. Qualification of states, tribes, and territories for ECF grants supporting short-term aid or subsidized employment were dependent only on increased expenditures from FY2007 or FY2008. ARRA placed a limit on total ECF and other TANF contingency fund payments to states, at a combined 50% of a state's basic block grant over the two years, FY2009 and FY2010.
A total of 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands had their applications for ECF grants approved. Additionally, 25 tribes and tribal organizations had approved ECF applications. Of the total $5 billion awarded, $1.6 billion was for basic assistance, $2.1 billion for short-term aid, and $1.3 billion for subsidized employment. Twelve states (Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington State) have received their maximum ECF grants.
