Monica Potts says the new Congress jeopardizes a tenuous agreement among liberals on how to reform Bush’s poverty programs.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the program for low-income families formerly known as welfare, is up for reauthorization in 2011. During the Bush administration, policy-makers co-opted TANF programs — which had been aimed primarily at struggling single mothers — to promote culture-war causes like marriage promotion and responsible fatherhood. Thus, “healthy marriage” initiatives got $150 million that should have gone to social services that would help both mothers and fathers provide for their children. These programs are set to expire next year, and progressive groups had hoped President Barack Obama would end them entirely. But it’s clear one holdover will remain with support from Obama: responsible fatherhood initiatives.
