On July 31, the House of Representatives passed welfare reform legislation by a vote of 328 to 101. Earlier that day, President Clinton announced that he planned to sign this harmful legislation into law.
I opposed this welfare bill. We all agree that the welfare system must be reformed. But we must make sure that reform reduces poverty, not bashes poor people. The cuts in this bill will diminish the quality of life for children in poor families in America and will have a devastating impact on the economy of our cities.
Food and nutrition cuts will result in increased hunger. Local government will be forced to pay for the federal government's abdication of responsibility. How can a country as great as America ignore the needs of America's infants and children who are born into poverty? The Bible tells us that to minister to the needs of God's children is an act of worship; to ignore those needs is to dishonor the God who made them.
The Republican leadership is already saying that $55 billion savings will be used to offset the cost of a tax cut they expect to pursue in the fall.
In California, at least 1.2 million children would be denied benefits when these welfare provisions are fully implemented.
In San Francisco, as many as 30,000 legal immigrants who depend on federal health and welfare programs would lose their benefits. Almost 16,000 immigrants, most of them elderly, will lose SSI benefits under this legislation.
The San Francisco Department of Social Services believes that many of these clients will become eligible for General Assistance. It is estimated that San Francisco would need at least $74 million more in General Assistance funds to make up for the debilitating cuts in this bill.
Real welfare reform is about work. The opportunity to work at a job that pays a living wage, to have access to education and job training which provides skills needed for these jobs, and to have quality child care available to meet the needs of working parents are all essential components of effective and lasting welfare reform.
This bill is mean spirited, punitive, discriminatory and unconscionable. This so called "welfare reform" bill meets the needs of politicians at the expense of poor children in this country.
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