Bush Wants Food Stamps For Some Noncitizens

KOAT ^

[chance33_98]

Bush Wants Food Stamps For Some Noncitizens

GOP Blocks White House Plan, Seeks More Restrictive Approach

Posted: 9:50 a.m. EDT April 11, 2002

WASHINGTON -- House Republicans have blocked President George W. Bush's proposal to restore food stamps to certain noncitizens.

The plan is popular with groups that represent Hispanics, a voting bloc the White House has targeted.

But a House-Senate conference committee that is negotiating a farm bill set aside the food stamp issue after House GOP members insisted on a much more restrictive approach.

Under their plan, immigrants would have to prove they've worked in the country for at least five years and could not receive food stamps for more than two years. Under the White House plan, there would be no time limit on benefits, but immigrants must have been here at least five years to receive the aid.

House Republicans also want to deny benefits to any immigrants who have ever been in the country illegally for more than a year.

Food stamps for legal immigrants were cut off when Congress overhauled the welfare system in 1996.

[WRhine]

Yep. But he still looks great in all those, "A day in the life of President Bush threads.

The Photo Op presidency continues.

[Uncle Bill]

BTTT

[Askel5]

Somebody ought to tell Karl Rove that for every vote he buys with this programme it will attract two bogus Democrat votes.

Uh, well ... the problem could be he's perfectly cool with that.

[nunya bidness]

Bump back at ya'.

[Uncle Bill]

Bush's food stamp plan called ethnic pandering

Click me:

Source
"The welfare reform law of 1996 replaced AFDC with a new program: Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). This reform has been widely acknowledged as a tremendous success leading to dramatic drops in dependence and child poverty, increases in employment, and a slow down in the growth of out-of-wedlock child bearing.

While critics of welfare reform said that it would throw millions of children into poverty, in fact, the opposite has occurred. The poverty rates of black children and children in single mother families are now at the lowest points in our nation's history."

Click me:

[Uncle Bill]

House GOP Blocks Food Stamps Plan

Associated Press
By PHILIP BRASHER
AP Farm Writer
SOURCE

WASHINGTON - President Bush's election-year proposal to restore food stamps to noncitizens has run into opposition from House Republicans who would rather use the money to benefit farmers.

The White House plan is popular with groups that represent Hispanics, a voting bloc the White House has targeted.

But a House-Senate conference committee that is negotiating a farm bill set aside the food stamp issue after House GOP members balked Wednesday at Bush's proposal. They want to restrict the number of immigrants who could qualify and limit how long they could get benefits.

"We ought to target those people who are most in need of assistance," said Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va.

Legal immigrants were cut off of food stamps when Congress overhauled the welfare system in 1996.

Bush's proposal, which was included in a farm bill passed by the Senate in February, would restore benefits to an estimated 363,000 people at a cost of $2.1 billion over the next 10 years.

The proposal "would give a lot of hope to legal immigrants," said Rep. Eva Clayton, D-N.C.

But House Republicans want to take most of that money and shift it into agricultural research and subsidy programs for farmers and landowners.

The GOP negotiators said immigrants should be required to prove they have worked in the country for at least five years and should not receive food stamps for more than two years.

The Republicans also would deny benefits to any immigrants who have ever been in the country illegally for more than a year. Federal and state officials say that restriction would be very difficult to enforce.

"It's hard to see why they (Republicans) are digging in their heels," said Ellen Vollinger, a spokeswoman for the Food Research and Action Center, an advocacy group.

Farm workers, whose jobs are seasonal, would be among the biggest beneficiaries of the White House plan, experts say.

House members of the conference committee voted 8-6 along party lines to support the GOP proposal over the White House plan.

The GOP move also was significant in that it would break an agreement that leaders of the conference committee reached in March on overall spending levels for various sections of the farm bill.

That agreement earmarked $6.4 billion in new spending for nutrition programs over the next 10 years. Overall, the legislation would increase spending for agriculture and nutrition programs by $73.5 billion over the decade.

The negotiators are trying to merge a farm bill that passed the House last fall with the rival version approved by the Senate.

So far, the lawmakers have mostly been staking out negotiating positions on a long list of issues that range from the president's food stamp plan to new rules for farm subsidies.

Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said he did not expect the conference committee to make much progress before next week.

The bills are H.R. 2646 and S. 1731.

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"The Republicans also would deny benefits to any immigrants who have ever been in the country illegally for more than a year. Federal and state officials say that restriction would be very difficult to enforce."

So, if it's under a year, it's ok. LOL!

Bush's food stamp plan called ethnic pandering

[grania]

It applies to legal immigrants who have worked and paid taxes.

So what? They aren't citizens. If they can't support themselves, send them home. If there are unemployed or underemployed citizens who could do jobs, send home those workers, too. We have citizens who need jobs, and housing, and less taxes.

We don't need the workers; we can't afford the benefits as a nation. Do you have any idea the permanent damage that is going to be done to the economy if the fed just keeps printing and handing out money?

[Uncle Bill]

BTTT

[gambler1958]

Well, I agree that the ones that work for a living should get the benefits, if they are paying taxes like every on else. But my parents worked for 37 years in sewing factory and now that they are older 87 and 77, the government has turned it's back on them, just because they make a little too much on their social security checks. Hell why should anyone work for a living, you get along better without working. This country has pampered its citizens to much, now only the lazy, sorry and no good people are get the benefits that hard working americans have paid for.