Education Key to Real Welfare Reform

June 4, 2002

Statement of NOW Action Vice President Olga Vives

If we found a way to truly reduce poverty, wouldn't the obvious choice be to utilize it? If we found a way to do more than merely move people off the welfare rolls—to actually lift them out of poverty—wouldn't Congress jump at the chance?

Today the National Urban League, Senator Paul Wellstone, the National Organization for Women and other groups stand together in reaffirming that education is a key component of welfare reform and reducing poverty. It should come as no surprise that a college education, as the Urban League's study confirms, is one the best ways for poor families to move well above the poverty line and into self-sufficiency. On behalf of NOW's more than half-million members, I applaud both the Urban League's study and Sen. Wellstone's promising bill, the Education Works Act. This Bingaman-Wellstone legislation would expand access to education for recipients of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)—a crucial component of any welfare reform debate.

Feminists have long known that the way to achieve the real purpose of welfare—moving families out of poverty—is simple. Congress needs to ensure that people in all income brackets have access to funding for higher education, and that education counts as work credit in welfare legislation. The Education Works Act offers the opportunity to do just that.

Expanding welfare legislation to address education is not a far-fetched idea. A 2000 report from the Kellogg Foundation showed that nine out of 10 people in the U.S. think that families moving from welfare to work should have access to education and/or training for jobs that would allow them to be self-sufficient. Yet, less than one percent of Federal TANF funds were spent on education and training in 2000.

Rhetoric about encouraging self-sufficiency for poor families is empty unless poor families can have access to an education that will guarantee equal opportunities. TANF recipients are currently required to spend 30 hours per week in work or work activities. It's critical that time spent getting an education be counted toward TANF's mandatory work hours.

The Senate would do well to adopt the provisions in Senate Bill 2548, the Education Works Act. It's time to end the welfare debate once and for all. The only way to end the vicious cycle of poverty and welfare reform debate is to enact legislation that is fair and will yield real results. Educational opportunities and work supports, like child care and transportation, are key to real reform. This isn't rocket science, it's common sense.

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