Speech #1040031979

I would like to give some examples about what the Contract With Americas welfare reform proposal would do to certain individuals and families. Let me give some examples. A pregnant woman who is a legal immigrant would not be eligible for the Women. Infants. and Childrens Program. called WIC. which gives. in some cases. infant formulait helps a woman who just had a child. a U.S. citizen child. even though she is preparing to give birth or if she already gave birth. as I said. to what would be a U.S. citizen. A 7yearold child would be denied foster care and adoption assistance if. by some accident. her parents happened to die. Because. solely because. she would be a legal immigrant and her parents had expired. she would not be eligible for any foster care or adoption services under the Contract With America. A 23yearold woman. again. legally present in the United States. who may have been forced to flee her home from an abusive husband would be denied services coordinated by a battered womans shelter under the Contract With Americas welfare proposal. A 35yearold man granted political asylum because the country he was fleeing might have tortured him or was intending to torture him. in some capacity this gentlemans life was in danger and that is why he was granted political asylum. it could have been because of religious beliefs. political beliefs. but he has now been granted by this country refuge because he has proven that he was in danger of losing his life. that person legally in this country would be ineligible to receive canned goods from the food bank run by his local church under this welfare reform proposal by the Republican Contract With America. Two more examples: A legal immigrant. again. who served in the armed services and fought in the Persian Gulf War could be ineligible to receive Social Security. excuse me. Supplemental Social Security income benefits. even if he was disabled during the line of duty. Finally. let us take a 60yearold woman who may have emigrated to this country legally when she was 15 years of age. She worked in this country. say. all her life. and somehow was rendered incapable of continuing to work because of. say. a heart condition. She would not qualify for any Medicaid under the welfare proposal that the Republicans have in their Contract on America.