WASHINGTON - Saying that an effective welfare system must have poverty reduction as its highest priority, the American Civil Liberties Union today warned Congress that welfare reform legislation set for a vote this afternoon in the House is not up to the task and would, in many cases, open doors in the states to significant violations of the core civil liberties of welfare recipients. 

"The last round of welfare reform has been anything but a success, regardless of what its supporters say. While it's true that the number of people on the welfare rolls has decreased, many of these people have been denied aid unfairly," said LaShawn Y. Warren, an ACLU Legislative Counsel. 

"A compassionate approach to combating poverty -- something which is completely removed from this bill -- must respect the rights guaranteed under the Constitution to everyone in the United States," Warren added. "This bill does not respect those basic rights - it fails to protect freedom of speech and religion, privacy rights, equal protection and due process." 

At issue is legislation set for a floor vote today in the House that would reauthorize the 1996 welfare reform plan known as the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program. TANF is a block grant created by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, as part of a federal effort to reform welfare. 

This year's reauthorization legislation (HR 4700) is a combination of several different bills but closely resembles the Administration's welfare reform proposal released last February. 

The ACLU has pointed to several troubling provisions in the Republican-sponsored legislation. Most notably, the bill contains a waiver provision that would permit the elimination of important protections for people served by federal programs like public housing. 

"Not only does this bill fail to address current flaws in the system - flaws which block efforts to help welfare recipients become self-sufficient - it even exacerbates existing problems in TANF," Warren said. "The bill, in its current form, increases work requirements and penalties and limits access to education, training, counseling and treatment."