Pandemic TANF Assistance Act
Latest action · May 11, 2020 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMay 11, 2020
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Pandemic TANF Assistance Act
This bill temporarily suspends certain Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program requirements and establishes a grant program in response to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) emergency. Specifically, states, tribes, and territories may not deny, reduce, or terminate TANF assistance because a recipient does not meet specified conditions of TANF participation from October 1, 2019, to November 30, 2020. These conditions include time limits for receiving assistance, work requirements, and compliance with paternity establishment or child support procedures.
During that time period, the bill also restricts the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from penalizing jurisdictions that fail to meet TANF requirements such as work participation standards. However, HHS may reduce grants for jurisdictions that improperly deny, reduce, or terminate TANF assistance in violation of the bill.
Additionally, HHS must award grants to states, tribes, and territories for short-term cash, noncash, and in-kind assistance and other activities to assist families meet their basic needs from April 1, 2020, to September 30, 2021. Families eligible for assistance must be impacted by COVID-19 and have monthly income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. The bill provides funding for this purpose.
Cosponsors 10
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 11, 2020 to Aug 4, 2020; 3 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-HI | Brian Schatz | Original | May 11, 2020 |
| D-PA | Robert P. Casey Jr. | Original | May 11, 2020 |
| D-OH | Sherrod Brown | Original | May 11, 2020 |
| D-CA | Dianne Feinstein | May 20, 2020 | |
| D-NJ | Cory A. Booker | May 21, 2020 | |
| D-MD | Chris Van Hollen | Jun 30, 2020 | |
| D-MD | Benjamin L. Cardin | Jul 27, 2020 | |
| D-RI | Jack Reed | Jul 29, 2020 | |
| D-CA | Kamala D. Harris | Aug 3, 2020 | |
| D-WI | Tammy Baldwin | Aug 4, 2020 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Finance Committee | Referred May 11, 2020 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 11, 2020Introduced in Senate
- May 11, 2020Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R46365 | Child Support Enforcement-Led Employment Services for Noncustodial Parents: In Brief | Report | May 18, 2020 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to provide States and Indian Tribes with flexibility in administering the temporary assistance for needy families program due to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), to make emergency grants to States and Indian Tribes to provide financial support for low-income individuals affected by that public health emergency, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Pandemic TANF Assistance Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Social Welfare.
- American Samoa
- Appropriations
- Cardiovascular and respiratory health
- Disaster relief and insurance
- Emergency medical services and trauma care
- Employment and training programs
- Family services
- Federal-Indian relations
- Government information and archives
- Guam
- Indian social and development programs
- Infectious and parasitic diseases
- Intergovernmental relations
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Poverty and welfare assistance
- Social Welfare
- State and local finance
- State and local government operations
- U.S. territories and protectorates
- Virgin Islands
- Wages and earnings
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 11, 2020Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
