No One Who 'Plays by the
Rules' Should go Hungry Says the Pres
Should more legal immigrants get food
stamps? According to Clinton, in some cases, yes. But the 1996 welfare reform law left
450,000 legal immigrants ineligible for this type of assistance.
Clinton is looking to reform food stamp availability across the board, not just for
immigrants.
Low income families who are trying to get off of welfare should receive a temporary
increase in food stamps to help them get through the transition, says the President.
The announcement came in Clinton's weekly radio address, as he explained that the
Agriculture Department will be granting states the authority to establish a policy where
three-month transitional food stamps are granted to those families making the transition
to a working life from one on welfare.
Clinton maintains the the plan is not only ethical in terms of making sure people are
taken care of, but that it also encourages responsibility, as it strengthens families and
the economy.
Changes in the rules will make it possible for a family receiving food stamps to own a car
that is used for work. People will also now be granted a six month window to report income
changes, and states will be required to inform working families of their food stamp
eligibility status.
Ellen Vollinger of the Food Research and Action Center praised Clinton's decision,
agreeing with him that transitions from welfare to work would be made easier with the new
rules, and that success rates for staying off welfare would be higher.
According to the Agriculture Department, some 62 percent of those families now eligible
for food stamps are not collecting them. Many of those include working households. The
rates vary widely from state to state, but none have a 100% participation by those
eligible.
Many are unaware that they qualify to receive food stamps, while others have an aversion
to accepting charity.
But Clinton feels strongly that no hard working resident in this country should be faced
with difficulties in feeding themselves or their families. He concedes that the struggle
is a common one, though, and that it may keep people on welfare.
Urging Congress to restore food-stamp benefits to legal immigrants and to raise the hourly
minimum wage by $1 in an effort to lower poverty country-wide, Clinton reiterated that
"No family working full time and playing by the rules should have to raise children
in poverty."
and 
| 