Protect child support payments to families on TANF - NO on HB 2039

Testimony given before WA House Appropriations Committee by Essentials First Director of Advocacy & Outreach on Friday April 4, 2025

To the members of the Appropriations committee and everyone gathered here today, thank you for the opportunity to speak in this critical moment.

My name is Irene Muller, currently serving as the Director of Advocacy & Outreach for Essentials First, an organization that combats hygiene poverty in Washington by distributing essential goods like soap and laundry detergent to families in need.

Our clients are low-income families, many of whom rely on TANF grants to meet their basic needs. These grant amounts are so low, typically only 8-11% of the Needs Standard, that there is no flexibility to cover hygiene expenses alongside the many other critical needs these grants are meant to support.

We see firsthand every day the impact of limiting the financial resources of Washington families.

I am also a single mother with lived experience of poverty and it’s many consequent struggles.

I am here today because you have a rare opportunity before you: to achieve some justice swiftly and decisively for a huge number of families facing poverty at once. 

The cost of raising children is skyrocketing, and the constellation of policies and organizations designed to provide a reliable foundation for parents are not keeping up - more families fall through the cracks every day. 

Please ensure that families receive the child support funds that rightly belong to them, that they need to survive and make their way out of poverty, so we can continue moving toward a future where all families thrive. To fill our deficit, I urge you to rely on passing progressive revenue instead.

Thank you.