Tzedek, Tzedek Tirdof: Let them Eat Wedding Rings?
Join CBST and the Alternatives to Marriage Project in reminding Congress that the purpose of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families is to end poverty , not to promote marriage.
"Happy is the one who considers the poor." --Psalms 41:2
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) (also known as welfare or public assistance) is an important part of our social contract to help parents and children in poverty. Congress must vote on whether to continue TANF every five years and is due to be reauthorized in 2010. When President Clinton "ended welfare as we knew it," he allowed Congress to state that the purposes of TANF include promoting marriage and two-parent families, and reducing births to unmarried parents. Then the Bush Administration used TANF funds to give $150 million per year to hundreds of marriage programs around the country.
Those programs are fighting hard to keep their grants flowing. We must fight just as hard to put that money back into programs that are proven to ease the pain of poverty and help families leave poverty behind, regardless of their marital status.
Join CBST and the Alternatives to Marriage Project in reminding Congress that the purpose of TANF is to end poverty , not to promote marriage.
