Welfare policy creates dissent

04/11/2006

Tempers flared Monday when the Minnesota House debated a welfare waiting period for new Minnesota residents.

Lawmakers passed the bill 94-37 after amending it to prohibit welfare recipients from using their electronic benefit cards to buy cigarettes or alcohol, and charging them transaction fees to cover the cost.

Several Democrats said the move was mean-spirited and punished the poor.

The bill from Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Delano, would give 60 percent of general assistance to new childless residents for their first 90 days in the state. After that, they could get the full benefit: a maximum of $203 monthly for single adults, $260 for childless couples.

“It’s not about picking on anyone,” Emmer said. “This is all about what’s in the best interest for everyone in the state of Minnesota, not just a certain segment.”

But the bill has no counterpart in the Senate, which lessens its chances of becoming law.

An amendment from Rep. Tony Sertich, DFL-Chisholm, took some of the sting out of the waiting period; it would allow veterans, the mentally ill, people with disabilities and displaced homemakers to get full benefits immediately.

—Associated Press