-- 2019 SALT LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES --
Social Action Linking Together, or SALT, has over 1,300 members supporting SALT’s goal to help shape social policy that advances the common good and supports human services in Virginia. We urge your support for:
SALT Priority #1: Reform Locality Groupings for TANF Program This amendment provides $5.3 million each year from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant to reorganize the two locality groupings for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance into only one. Groups II and III would be combined and the rates in Group III would apply to everyone in the group, resulting in an increase in TANF cash assistance payments.
SALT Priority #2: SALT TANF Time Limit proposals—to change the TANF Regulations so that the time limit is a continuous 5 years and not 2 years (the ask: eliminate the 2-year break). The Virginia’s two year TANF time limit needs modification in order to accommodate those in education and training programs, since post-secondary education, GED, vocational education, and most credentialing programs, as well as apprenticeships, require more than 24 months for the screening, access and completion process. Preparing adult TANF recipients for employment should be a primary goal for Virginia. Attaining this goal would be a win-win for both TANF recipients and taxpayers. However, the current two-year time limit placed on continuous receipt of TANF benefits is an impediment, making that goal unattainable. See FACT SHEET: TANF SALT’s Virginia Time Limits Proposal
SALT Priority #3: Virginia Refundable EITC Governor Northam recenntly announced that he will ask lawmakers to use new tax revenue from the federal tax law changes to make the Virginia EITC fully refundable. This is a significant advancement of this important policy issue for hundreds of thousands of low- and moderate income working families around the state. SALT joins the Governor in his mission to build economic opportunity for all Virginians, no matter who you are or where you live. Making the earned income tax credit refundable will benefit Virginians in every locality and every legislative district. See FACT SHEET: The Benefits of a Refundable Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
SALT Priority #4: Legislation Requiring VADOC to Report Data on Solitary Confinement - What Would this Bill Do? The bill would require the Department of Corrections (DOC) to report annually on its use of solitary confinement (sometimes known by other labels such as “restrictive housing” or “segregation”). The DOC would submit the data to the Governor and the General Assembly and would publish the data on its website. Why is this Bill Needed? The bill would ensure that the public and legislators have information about how solitary confinement is used, including who is in solitary confinement, for what reasons, and for how long. Without this bill, corrections officials have no obligation to divulge this kind of information. We hope you agree that minimizing the use of solitary confinement and treating prisoners in a way that is seen by the public to be consistent, transparent, accountable, and humane are important objectives. Limiting and Ending Solitary Confinement--SALT supports the reducing of solitary confinement to an absolute minimum, since this practice is considered torture and fails to meet the “constructive and rehabilitative purpose” of criminal justice as set forth in statements by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2000; the UN Standard Minimum Rules on the Treatment of Prisoners; and the US Justice Department. SALT FACT SHEET: Solitary Confinement Requiring VACOC to Report Data (LH - 1)
http://www.s-a-l-t.org/2-uncategorised/89-reducing-solitary-confinement-in-virginia.html.
SALT Priority #5: Virginia TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) Scholarship Pilot Project—SALT supports, in an effort to break the generational cycle of poverty, the transfer of a portion of unspent TANF monies to finance a four-year pilot test to educate eligible TANF students. By 2020, 65 percent of all jobs will require postsecondary education and training beyond high school, with 35 percent requiring a bachelor's degree and 30 percent requiring
some college or an associate's degree. SALT FACT SHEET: http://www.s-a-l-t.org/2-uncategorised/85-virginia-scholarship-savings-plan.html.
SALT FACT SHEET: "SALT Senate Bill SB 1000 TANF Scholarship Pilot by Sen. Bill Stanley"
SALT Priority #6: TANF Adjustments -- SALTsupports the original purpose of TANF: TO ENABLE THE CHILDREN IN NEEDY FAMILIES TO BE CARED FOR IN THEIR OWN HOMES OR HOMES OF RELATIVES. Thanks to a dramatic 64% caseload reduction, there is no reason why federal TANF block grant savings should be used for anything other than a modest benefit increase to re-invest in families still on TANF. See FACT SHEET: http://www.s-a-l-t.org/images/TANFBenefits1.pdf
SALT Priority #7: Lifting The Lifetime Federal Ban On SNAP For First - Time Felony Offense Of Possession With Intent To Distribute. SALT supports ending the Federal lifetime ban on SNAP benefits for ex-offenders convicted of felony drug crimes. This ban imposes a life sentence (or lifetime penalty) after prison time has been served. It penalizes children of drug felons (not only the offender) and nullifies re-entry efforts and family reintegration. SALT FACT SHEET: http://www.s-a-l-t.org/2-uncategorised/55-tanf-ban-opt-out-2015.html.
SALT Priority #8: Opposing Block Grants For All Human Services Programs SALT opposes federal block grants for all human service programs because funding typically contracts — often sharply — in subsequent years and decades. A study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) evaluating the current and historic funding for all 13 of the major housing, health, and social services block-grant programs created in recent decades found that funding for 11 of the 13 programs has shrunk since their inception.
The statesman Edmund Burke reminds us: “Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.” We know the history of Block Grants and the negative effects these grants have had on social programs. Let’s not repeat that history when considering Medicaid. SALT FACT SHEET: Block Grant Fact Sheet - Safety Net Programs.
For additional information, contact John Horejsi, SALT Coordinator at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
(September 2018)