Posted on 01/09/2002 8:10:37 AM PST by 74dodgedart
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration, seeking to reverse part of the 1996 welfare overhaul, on Wednesday proposed to restore food stamp benefits to 363,000 legal immigrants who have lived in the country for at least five years.
Under current rules, adult immigrants must have worked in the country for at least 10 years or be a refugee or member of the military to qualify for benefits. There is no work requirement in the White House proposal, which will be part of President Bush's 2003 budget.
A senior administration official who described the proposal on condition of anonymity said the change would go a long way toward meeting the needs of a number of children and adults.
The Senate is considering revisions in farm and nutrition programs that would lower the existing work requirement for immigrants from 10 years to four years.
Congressional Republicans have argued that a work or residency requirement is necessary to keep people from moving to the United States to take advantage of the welfare system.
The administration's plan would cost $2.1 billion over 10 years. The White House has not said how it would pay for the proposal. The food-stamp program costs about $17 billion annually.
Food stamp rolls fell from 25.5 million in 1996, when Congress overhauled the welfare system, to below 17 million early last year. By October, the number swelled to 18.4 million.
So let's see. Increased Federal interference in education. Increased food stamp recipients. Federal funding of churches. Signs China up as permanent Most Favored Nation for trading status.
Socialism - Its Not Just For Democrats Anymore!(tm)
Too bad the Pres. is playing politics with this, the government does not belong in the business of charity for a whole litany of reasons.
It is a clever ploy to plant something like this and force the administration to either do it, aggravating their base, or deny it, aggravating the Hispanics.
I would bet cash money this didn't come from anyone in the administration, and I doubt that they were considering it.
2002 was the first year that the Congress would be allowed to cut spending in welfare programs, which have been growing every year despite the '96 reform.
Sorry - if they are aliens, deport them and let their homeland take care of its own!
America abounds with legal aliens from nations with no "social safety net" - Red China's elderly (Red China has no pensions for most and no Social Security), Russia's elderly (pensions there collapsed financially after Brezhnev years ago); why should we be the welfare office for Red China and Russia? And these people aren't the "working poor," either; we are talking about huge numbers of them arriving after retiring in Red China or Russia!
We are told that Washington is going to run a deficit due to the "war on terrorism" and that we will have to undergo cuts. But add welfare for aliens at the same time?
If Bush wimps out on this one, he guarantees defeat for the GOP in 2004 by alienating virtually all European-Americans in Red Nation - and by alienating black Americans, who see their relatives kicked off welfare by strict "welfare reform" deadlines.
IMMIGRATION resource library: public-health facts, court decisions, local INS numbers!
They need to do away with stamps completely and go to prepaid cards. In Texas they did about 6 or so years ago and have saved a lot of money by eliminating the printing of stamps, accounting for them and taking the fraud out of the system. The card is issued each month in the amount the receipent is to get and each time it is used the purchased is substracted from the balance until it zeros out. I wouldn't be surprised to see President Bush interested in this area as several changes were made during his tenure as governor. Remember them citing how bad Texas was in providing welfare.
Aren't you still in awe of his walking on water?
Workfare not welfare!!
All we need now is a new national crisis to take our attention away from the big-government uniter's true policies
w will send the bombers after that asprin factory in Sudan again?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.