From: "ARON KAY" <pieman-AT-pieman.org> Subject: Fw: New Coalition Vows Fight Over Welfare Law Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2001 03:16:35 -0500 ----- Original Message ----- From: "portsideMod" <portsidemod-AT-yahoo.com> To: "portside" <portside-AT-yahoogroups.com> Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2001 12:21 AM Subject: New Coalition Vows Fight Over Welfare Law > New Coalition Vows Fight Over Welfare Law > > by Laura Meckler > November 14, 2001 > Associated Press > > WASHINGTON -- A coalition of liberals is vowing to fight > for changes in federal welfare policy when the landmark > overhaul is renewed next year. Kicking off their > campaign, they argue that the popular changes aren't > working as well as most Americans think. > > The newly formed National Campaign for Jobs and Income Support > <http://www.nationalcampaign.org/>, made up of some 1,000 groups, argues that > the 1996 welfare law has left the nation with a tattered safety net that will > be unable to support needy Americans if the economic slump deepens. > > The 1996 law ended the six-decade federal guarantee of > cash benefits to the poor, limited welfare to five years > and imposed strict work requirements. The results were > dramatic: Caseloads fell by nearly 60 percent, as > welfare recipients were lured into jobs by the strong > economy or pushed off the rolls by tough new rules. > > At the same time, poverty rates have not fallen as far > as welfare rolls, with many people leaving welfare for > jobs that don't pay enough to reach the poverty line. > > The new group, which is launching its campaign > Wednesday, is looking for a host of changes. Among them: > Allowing people on welfare to satisfy work requirements > by participating in education or training, stopping the > clock on the five-year time limit if someone is working > and restoring welfare, food stamp, health and disability > benefits to legal immigrants. > > Politically, it hopes to be more successful that > liberals were in 1996, when President Clinton signed the > GOP-drafted bill, said Deepak Bhargava, director of the > campaign. > > "There was a state of shock that these massive changes > were being contemplated and disbelief that they could > occur under a Democratic president's watch," he said. > "Now people are very clear about the stakes and have > mobilized." > > Conservatives have a much different agenda for next > year's welfare debate. Most of them are happy with the > work requirements, but many hope to put a stronger > emphasis on marriage and reducing the number of children > born to single parents. > > The liberal group, with AFL-CIO President John Sweeney > on hand, is launching its campaign by arguing that many > workers who could lose their jobs in an economic > downturn will not have access to unemployment insurance, > which does not cover many part-time jobs or workers > without long job histories. > > It released research that suggested the number of people > in poverty would increase by more than 3.3 million if > the unemployment rate rises by two percentage points. > > The group's research also found that more than 120,000 > families have had their welfare benefits reduced or > eliminated because of welfare time limits, a finding > similar to that of an Associated Press survey last > summer. > > And it found that more than 116,000 poor immigrant > families have incomes that are low enough to qualify for > welfare or food stamps, but they do not qualify because > they came to the country after August 1996, when the > welfare law was signed. > > © 2001 The Associated Press > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Find the one for you at Yahoo! Personals > http://personals.yahoo.com > > > portside (the left side in nautical parlance) is a > news, discussion and debate service of the Committees > of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism. It > aims to provide varied material of interest to people > on the left. > > Post : mail to 'portside-AT-yahoogroups.com' > Subscribe : mail to 'portside-subscribe-AT-yahoogroups.com' > Unsubscribe : mail to 'portside-unsubscribe-AT-yahoogroups.com' > List owner : portside-owner-AT-yahoogroups.com > Web address : <http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/portside> > Digest mode : visit Web site > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > >
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