Cash payments are reduced 50 percent by the year 2003. Needy families will suffer these losses through the elimination or reduction of programs like aid to families with dependent children [AFDC]. food stamps. school lunches. disability payments. foster care and nutrition supplements for pregnant women and infant children. Children and legal immigrants are the real victims of this bill. No needy child should be denied lunch at school or food stamps at home because his or her parents applied after the set allocation had dwindled. Withdrawing assurance of help to children who are needy. hungry. abused. or disabled is simply unacceptable. Children should not suffer because their parents cannot provide. Nor should legal immigrants who have played by the rules and paid taxes be denied in their time of need. Making legal immigrants ineligible for public assistance should they become sick. disabled or unemployed 10 or 20 years after their arrival in this country is unfair and cruel. If the aim of the Personal Responsibility Act is to teach welfare recipients about work. family and responsibility. then why does it scapegoat a group that is the embodiment of these values? Under the Republican proposal States would get the same amount of money block granted to them each yearregardless of changes in the number of needy children or newcomers. This would result in some States being hurt disproportionately. Fewer immigrants and disabled children will be eligible for supplemental security income [SSI]. with legal immigrants being denied AFDC. food stamps and Medicaid as well. This bill would be a disaster for my home State of California. which alone stands to lose $15.177 billion over the next 5 years. The House Republican welfare proposal would eliminate Federal funding for family preservation and support and several other programs that work to prevent child abuse and neglect. It would restrict welfare for legal immigrants. resulting in a $7.777 billion loss in Federal funding for Californias residents. California would also receive $2.486 billion less in funding for food stamps and $1.099 billion less in nutrition assistance. Not only does this bill cut muchneeded assistance. but it does shamefully little in the way of moving welfare recipients into the work force.
Keywords matched
immigrants