Chairman Saslaw, Senators and Delegates:

I ‘m John Horejsi, -- SALT Coordinator.

Thank You for the opportunity to speak.

SALT has 1,300 members supporting SALT TANF Legislative Priorities.

First, thank you for the 2021 General Assembly Mandate to increase assistance annually until benefits equal 50 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) for a family of three.

This federally funded benefit will help thousands of Virginians make ends meet and boost Virginia’ s economy.

SALT’s First TANF Priority - is Adjusting the TANF Income Disregards—to “Make work pay”! Doing so rewards work by allowing TANF families to keep more of their earned income –provides meaningful incentives to leave TANF & is a positive step to self-sufficiency,-- patroned by Senator Favola

Our Second TANF Issue: is to Reform the TANF Time-Limits into a continuous five years (Not the current 2 years). The Elimination of the 2-year cliff –would make it possible to better provide TANF parents with opportunities for job training.

The goal of TANF Time-Limits Elimination is to: convert welfare from a “ dead-end job factory” into “ a Second Chance “ for Virginia families. -- by patron, Senator Favola

Our Last TANF Issue – (Non-Supplantation) is to use TANF money exclusively for the TANF Core Purpose. Unfortunately, with too few controls on “TANF Programming,” Virginia is using TANF for “everything under the sun” --as Welfare Reform Architect, Ron Haskins put it in the Washington Post. For example, in the FY 2022 Budget, $59 million is going to “TANF Programming,” instead of to meeting the basics of housing and food subsistence for needy families that TANF is meant to benefit.

For Additional Information & Issue Fact Sheets visit our web site at: www.S-A-LT.org.

With thanks for your service and best wishes for a productive session.
John Horejsi & SALT This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.