Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Senate Republican Caucus Press Release on Welfare Reform
Yesterday the Senate Republican Caucus distributed the
following press release regarding legislation aimed to reform the state’s
welfare system:
Senate GOP Caucus puts real reform on the table
Propose strong tools such as drug testing to fight
waste, fraud and abuse
BOSTON
– With the Senate scheduled to debate a major welfare reform bill on
Thursday, the Senate Republican Caucus is preparing to offer a series of
substantive reforms that will strengthen the bill and provide significant new
tools to alleviate fraud, waste and abuse.
“We are taking advantage of the
opportunity before us to have a real debate on welfare reform, to strengthen
the bill and to get meaningful reforms that will achieve real results,” said Senate
Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester), who noted that many of the reforms
contained in the proposed bill released by the Senate Ways and Means Committee
on Monday have long been considered priorities by the Caucus and have been
offered as amendments as recently as last month during the Senate’s Fiscal Year
2014 budget debate.
“Our Caucus has been steadfast in its
commitment to welfare reform, and we are going to persist until the job gets
done,” said Senator Tarr.
Tarr, along with Assistant Minority
Leader Robert Hedlund (R-Weymouth), Minority Whip Richard Ross (R-Wrentham) and
Ranking Senate Ways and Means Committee member Michael Knapik (R-Westfield) plan
to file several amendments before Wednesday’s noontime deadline, including
proposals to:
·
Impose mandatory drug testing for
welfare recipients who are arrested or convicted of a drug-related crime, and
remove cash benefits for those who test positive for drugs;
·
Eliminate cash benefits for high risk
users, as recommended by The Ripples Group in its December 2012 report, a
proposal that mirrors language included in last year’s Senate budget requiring
direct payments for rent and utilities that was later vetoed by Governor
Patrick;
·
Ensure
that people who are in the country illegally cannot displace people who are
here legally on the waiting list for state subsidized housing, similar to the
policy used for federally subsidized housing;
·
Suspend the liquor and Lottery licenses
of those businesses that repeatedly allow prohibited items to be purchased with
EBT funds;
·
Require non-EBT card holders using
cards on behalf of another to be identified, given prior authorization and have
their use of these cards tracked;
·
Require all waivers and extension
requests to go through the DTA Commissioner’s Office by taking these decisions
out of the hands of caseworkers; and
·
Direct DTA to develop and implement an
inventory control system for EBT cards.
“It is clear from the proposed Senate
Ways and Means bill that our Caucus’ steadfast efforts to reform our broken and
wasteful welfare system has started to pay off,” said Senator Hedlund. “We
need to finish the job during Thursday’s debate and give the taxpayers of
Massachusetts lasting reform that is meaningful and effective. The final
welfare reform bill must ensure tax dollars are being used to help our
veterans, elderly and families in need and not wasted on fraud and abuse.
Only then can we begin to restore the integrity of this very important service
of state and local government.”
“We need to ensure that all who possess
EBT cards use them responsibly, and in the fashion and spirit in which the
taxpayer would hope was intended,” said Senator Ross.
“The Department of Transitional
Assistance was never intended to become a crutch; it was intended to help
people empower themselves,” added Senator Knapik. “That is what we are looking to do again. By
amending the current proposal, we can create a program of high integrity that
provides people with the pathways to jobs and ultimately self-sufficiency.”
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Labels:
Welfare Reform