Sponsors (3)
Introduced May 1, 2025 by Darin Lahood · Last progress May 1, 2025
This bill shifts TANF toward sustained, measurable employment supports, stronger data-driven accountability, and multiyear funding stability for states and tribes — but it raises administrative costs, privacy and sanction risks, and could reduce flexibility and some direct supports for vulnerable families.
Low-income parents and families will get expanded, sustained employment-focused services, case management, and measurable supports (training, job counseling, transitional benefits) aimed at increasing employment, earnings, and reducing child poverty.
Low-income families and state programs gain funding continuity and predictability through multiyear authorizations (through 2030) and non‑supplantation rules that help preserve or increase state spending on covered services.
Taxpayers and policymakers benefit from stronger transparency and accountability: standardized data definitions, outcome-focused reporting, public HHS dashboards with state performance metrics, and improper-payment detection should improve oversight and program performance measurement.
State and local agencies (and ultimately taxpayers) face significant new administrative, reporting, compliance, and IT upgrade costs to meet planning, data, accounting, and monitoring requirements.
Low-income recipients and parents risk benefit reductions, sanctions, or being pushed into unstable short‑term jobs because of stronger work requirements, mandatory engagement plans, and performance‑driven incentives that emphasize exits over sustained wellbeing.
Expanded individual-level data collection and public dashboards increase privacy, confidentiality, and stigma risks for beneficiaries and could enable punitive use of information if protections are insufficient.
Based on analysis of 35 sections of legislative text.
Overhauls TANF to prioritize employment outcomes, tighten state plans/reporting, set spending floors and limits, require individual plans and data standards, and impose performance targets with penalties.
Overhauls the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to prioritize moving parents into and up in employment, tighten state planning and reporting, and change what TANF funds can be used for. It requires states to adopt two-year approved plans, create individual opportunity plans and regular case management for work‑eligible people, meet negotiated employment and earnings outcome targets (with penalties for failing), follow new data-exchange and reporting standards, and meet minimum and targeted spending rules for core activities while narrowing some allowable uses of funds. The bill also: applies non‑supplantation rules, makes improper payments laws apply to state TANF programs, sets an October 1, 2026 effective date, updates statutory definitions for assistance and supports, bans certain establishments that sell marijuana from receiving benefits, and provides funding and technical assistance to help states comply with new requirements.