The situation in Washington regarding TANF remains muddled. A continuing resolution has extended the current legislation until the end of March. President Bush announced last week that he wants a reauthorization more like the draconian House Bill passed last year that increases work requirements. It is unclear what the Senate will do or where a majority lies. The Senate would prefer to pass a continuing resolution that extends the current legislation through the end of September but is being forced by the House to accept quarterly extensions as they try and keep pressure on the Senate.

The key legislative action remains in the Senate. Currently it is unclear what the legislative mechanism for reauthorization will be. The Republicans are preparing two reconciliation bills one on the economy/tax cuts and one on social issues. Democrats are reintroducing their bills.

The National Campaign for Jobs and Income Support informs me that the legislative track for TANF Reauthorization should be determined in about six weeks. They will resume lobbying measures, actions alerts etc once the legislative course is clear. However they and most of the other organizations working on this issue are being forced to scale back their efforts because of funding issues.

The legislative give and take on this given the Republican majority is hard to determine. Republican moderates had provided a margin of support to increase funding and make other small improvements in the legislation. Many advocates, state officials, and others will prefer the existing legislation to the House bill.

Frank LLewellyn is the National Director of DSA