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National
Key Vote
Welfare Reform Bill

Project Vote Smart's Synopsis: Vote to pass a bill that replaces most federal welfare programs with a block grant system to States, among other provisions.
Official Title of Legislation: HR 4: An Act to enhance support and work opportunities for families with children, reduce welfare dependence, and control welfare spending.
Highlights: - Replaces the current Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program with block grants to states, as long as the State submits documents outlining how it plans to design a program that provides temporary assistance to families, requires one parent to work, and establishes goals to reduce pregnancies in unmarried women.
- Increases grants after 2 years for states that decrease the number of pregnancies in unmarried women.
- Prohibits States from giving cash assistance to children of unmarried teenagers, except in cases of rape or incest.
- Requires States to increase the percentage of families that must participate in work activities each year.
- Prohibits States from providing additional cash assistance to families if another child is born, except in cases of rape or incest.
- Denies assistance to families that do not report their minor child's absence after a 5-day period.
- Requires states to limit aid to 5 years per family, and allows States to exempt up to 10 percent of families because of hardship, or if an individual was battered or suffered extreme cruelty.
- Withholds 15 percent of assistance from families when paternity is not established for at least one child, except in cases of rape or incest.
- Denies assistance for 10 years to any person who has fraudulently misrepresented their address in order to obtain assistance in more than one state.
- Denies assistance to fugitive felons and parole and probation violators.
- Defines a disabled children, for the purpose of receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) assistance, as an individual under the age of 18 who has a physical or mental impairment.
- Denies SSI assistance to individuals whose handicap is alcoholism or a drug addiction.
- Prohibits non-citizen, legal immigrants and nonimmigrant from receiving public assistance, except for non-cash emergency relief and certain housing related assistants.
- Provides grants to states for children who have been abused or neglected.
- Encourages states to implement an electronic benefit transfer system where a household is issued a photo identification card to electronically access food stamp benefits.
- $36.26 billion in grants to states for school-based nutrition programs for fiscal years 1996 - 2000.
- $24.75 billion in grants to states for family nutrition programs for fiscal years 1996 - 2000.
- $22.47 billion in grants to states for child protection and payments for foster care and adoption assistance for fiscal years 1996 - 2000.
- $10.47 billion in grants to states for child care assistance for fiscal years 1996 - 2000.
Link to Legislation: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c104:hr4:
House Passage: 03/24/1995 : Bill Passed 234 - 199 (Roll no. 269) Senate Passage With Amendment: 09/19/1995 : Bill Passed: 87 - 12 (Record Vote Number 443) NOTE: THIS IS A SUBSTITUTED BILL, MEANING THE LANGUAGE OF THE ORIGINAL BILL HAS BEEN REPLACED. House Conference Report Vote: 12/21/1995 : Conference Report Adopted: 245 - 178 (Roll no. 877) Senate Conference Report Vote: 12/22/1995 : Conference Report Adopted: 52 - 47 (Record Vote Number 613) President Passage: 01/09/1996 : Vetoed
Sponsors: Rep. LaTourette, Steven (R-OH) Rep. Shaw, E. Clay Jr. (R-FL) (out of office)
| Rep. Talent, James (R-MO) (out of office)
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Cosponsors: Rep. Allard, Wayne (R-CO) (out of office) Rep. Archer, William (R-TX) (out of office) Rep. Armey, Richard (R-TX) (out of office) Rep. Bachus, Spencer (R-AL) Rep. Baker, Richard Hugh (R-LA) (out of office) Rep. Baker, William (R-CA) (out of office) Rep. Ballenger, Cass (-NC) (out of office) Rep. Barr, Robert Jr. (-GA) (out of office) Rep. Bartlett, Roscoe (R-MD) Rep. Barton, Joe (R-TX) Rep. Bilirakis, Michael (R-FL) (out of office) Rep. Bliley, Thomas Jr. (R-VA) (out of office) Rep. Blute, Peter (R-MA) (out of office) Rep. Bono, Sonny (R-CA) (out of office) Rep. Bunning, Jim (-KY) (out of office) Rep. Burr, Richard (R-NC) (out of office) Rep. Burton, Dan (R-IN) Rep. Callahan, Herbert (-AL) (out of office) Rep. Calvert, Ken (R-CA) Rep. Camp, David (R-MI) Rep. Canady, Charles (R-FL) (out of office) Rep. Christensen, Jon Lynn (R-NE) (out of office) Rep. Chrysler, Dick (R-MI) (out of office) Rep. Clinger, William (R-PA) (out of office) Rep. Coble, John (R-NC) Rep. Coburn, Thomas (R-OK) (out of office) Rep. Collins, Mac (R-GA) (out of office) Rep. Combest, Larry (-TX) (out of office) Rep. Cooley, Wes (R-OR) (out of office) Rep. Crapo, Michael (-ID) (out of office) Rep. Cremeans, Frank Arnold (-OH) (out of office) Rep. Cubin, Barbara (R-WY) (out of office) Rep. Cunningham, Randall (R-CA) (out of office) Rep. Doolittle, John (R-CA) (out of office) Rep. Dornan, Robert (-CA) (out of office) Rep. Dreier, David (R-CA) Rep. Dunn, Jennifer (R-WA) (out of office) Rep. Ehrlich, Robert Jr. (-MD) (out of office) Rep. English, Philip (R-PA) (out of office) Rep. Ensign, John (R-NV) (out of office) Rep. Everett, Terry (R-AL) (out of office) Rep. Ewing, Thomas (R-IL) (out of office) Rep. Flanagan, Michael Patrick (R-IL) (out of office) Rep. Foley, Mark (R-FL) (out of office) Rep. Forbes, Michael Patrick (D-NY) (out of office) Rep. Fowler, Tillie (R-FL) (out of office) Rep. Fox, Jon David (-PA) (out of office) Rep. Frisa, Daniel (-NY) (out of office) Rep. Gallegly, Elton (R-CA) Rep. Gilchrest, Wayne (R-MD) (out of office) Rep. Gilman, Benjamin (-NY) (out of office) Rep. Goodlatte, Robert (R-VA) Rep. Goodling, William (R-PA) (out of office) Rep. Greenwood, James (-PA) (out of office) Rep. Gunderson, Steven (R-WI) (out of office) Rep. Hancock, Melton (R-MO) (out of office) Rep. Hastert, J. Dennis (R-IL) (out of office) Rep. Hastings, Doc (R-WA) Rep. Hayworth, John Jr. (R-AZ) (out of office) Rep. Heineman, Fredrick Kenneth Fred' (R-NC) (out of office) Rep. Herger, Walter Jr. (R-CA) Rep. Hilleary, Van (R-TN) (out of office) Rep. Hobson, David Lee (R-OH) (out of office) Rep. Horn, Stephen (R-CA) (out of office) Rep. Hostettler, John Nathan (R-IN) (out of office) Rep. Hunter, Duncan (R-CA) (out of office) Rep. Hutchinson, Y. Tim (R-AR) (out of office) Rep. Inglis, Robert Sr. (R-SC) (out of office) Rep. Istook, Ernest Jr. (R-OK) (out of office) Rep. Johnson, Samuel (R-TX) Rep. Jones, Walter Jr. (R-NC) Rep. Kingston, Jack (R-GA) Rep. Knollenberg, Joseph (R-MI) (out of office) Rep. Largent, Stephen (-OK) (out of office) Rep. Latham, Thomas (R-IA) Rep. Lewis, Ron (R-KY) (out of office) Rep. Lightfoot, Jim Ross (-IA) (out of office) Rep. Linder, John (R-GA) Rep. Livingston, Robert (R-LA) (out of office) Rep. McCollum, Bill (R-FL) (out of office) Rep. McCrery, James III (R-LA) (out of office) Rep. McKeon, Howard (R-CA) Rep. Mica, John (R-FL) Rep. Miller, Dan (R-FL) (out of office) Rep. Molinari, Susan (R-NY) (out of office) Rep. Myrick, Suellen (R-NC) Rep. Norwood, Charles Jr. (R-GA) (out of office) Rep. Nussle, James (R-IA) (out of office) Rep. Packard, Ronald (R-CA) (out of office) Rep. Paxon, William (R-NY) (out of office) Rep. Radanovich, George (R-CA) Rep. Riggs, Frank Duncan (R-CA) (out of office) Rep. Roberts, Pat (R-KS) (out of office) Rep. Rohrabacher, Dana (R-CA) Rep. Roth, Toby (R-WI) (out of office) Rep. Roukema, Marge (R-NJ) (out of office) Rep. Royce, Edward (R-CA) Rep. Salmon, Matthew (-AZ) (out of office) Rep. Saxton, H. James (R-NJ) (out of office) Rep. Seastrand, Andrea (R-CA) (out of office) Rep. Sensenbrenner, F. James Jr. (R-WI) Rep. Shadegg, John (R-AZ) Rep. Smith, Lamar (R-TX) Rep. Smith, Nick (-MI) (out of office) Rep. Solomon, Gerald B.H. (R-NY) (out of office) Rep. Stearns, Clifford (R-FL) Rep. Stockman, Steve (R-TX) (out of office) Rep. Stump, Bob (R-AZ) (out of office) Rep. Tate, Randy (R-WA) (out of office) Rep. Taylor, Charles (R-NC) (out of office) Rep. Thomas, William (R-CA) (out of office) Rep. Thornberry, William (R-TX) Rep. Tiahrt, Todd (R-KS) Rep. Walker, Robert (R-PA) (out of office) Rep. Wamp, Zach (R-TN) Rep. Weldon, David (R-FL) (out of office) Rep. Weldon, W. Curtis (R-PA) (out of office) Rep. Wicker, Roger (R-MS) (out of office) Rep. Young, C. W. Bill (R-FL)
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