(NASHVILLE) — This week Republican lawmakers passed an initiative sponsored by State Representative Dan Howell (R-Georgetown) designed to overhaul Tennessee’s welfare system.
House Bill 1822 — which passed by an 88-7 vote tally — requires able-bodied adults who receive cash benefits through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to meet reasonable work requirements in order to continue receiving benefits. The measure also increases assistance for families who meet these requirements by two percent. This increase is designed to better cover the basic needs of approximately 40,000 children who live in Tennessee.
Additionally, House Bill 1822 curbs instances of fraud, waste, and abuse within the current system by allowing Tennessee to partner with surrounding states in order to ensure there is no double dipping of welfare benefits.
The passage of this measure is the latest in a series of Republican-led efforts — which includes House Bill 1551, also sponsored by Representative Howell — designed to implement work requirements on able-bodied citizens who receive assistance from the state.
Work requirements for entitlement programs encourage self-sufficiency and less dependence on government benefits. In 1996, Congress passed bipartisan welfare reform requiring able-bodied adults to work in order to receive benefits under both SNAP and TANF. The change resulted in millions of people nationwide moving off government assistance and back into the workforce.
In fact, for the first time in more than a decade, the number of Tennesseans receiving SNAP benefits, formerly called food stamps, dropped to less than 1 million this past January.
“This measure ensures program integrity and guarantees that state resources are managed in the most efficient and effective way possible,” said Representative Howell. “We want our citizens to have meaningful employment, and we also want to make sure that those who are receiving benefits are doing so in good faith and are not taking advantage of the system.”
House Bill 1822 now awaits Governor Haslam’s signature. For more information about this initiative, please click here.
Dan Howell serves as the Chairman of the Joint Government Operations Judiciary & Government Subcommittee and as the Vice-Chairman of the House Local Government Committee. He is also a member of the House Government Operations and Joint Government Operations Committees, as well as the House Local Government Subcommittee. Howell lives in Georgetown and represents House District 22, which includes Meigs, Polk, and part of Bradley Counties. He can be reached by email at: Rep.Dan.Howell@capitol.tn.gov or by calling (615) 741-7799.
