COMMITTEE ON HUNGER GATHERS HERE

The U.S. House of Representatives' Select Committee on Hunger will hold a special hearing in Cape Girardeau Monday. The hearing, scheduled for 9 a.m. at the Show Me Center, will focus on ways to make public assistance programs work better.

U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson of Cape Girardeau is the ranking Republican member of the panel. Rep. Jill Long of Indiana will chair the hearing.

Among those testifying will be members of the Community Caring Council of Cape Girardeau, a group organized by State Rep. Mary Kasten, R-Cape Girardeau, to improve coordination between agencies that deal with children and families.

Kasten will present a panel of members to the committee.

Kasten, who previously shared information about the council with another congressional committee in Washington, said she looks forward to the opportunity to share the success in Cape Girardeau and to relate ways the federal government can make cooperative efforts like this one more successful.

Emerson said he looks forward to a productive hearing in Cape Girardeau. "Our welfare system is in serious need of reform," said Emerson. "The cure must start within the system; providing integration of federal programs, providing job skills, and encouraging a sense of self-respect to the welfare recipient.

"I look forward to having this opportunity to discuss Missouri's inroads to this problem and possible avenues for future congressional attention that will restructure and reform America's welfare system altogether."

Long said the committee is gathering information on ways to "change the perceptions that welfare recipients will forever be on welfare and cannot become self-sufficient.

"Through these efforts we can reduce welfare recipients' reliance on benefits and enable them to care for themselves and their families, and most of all, become active participants in our nation's economy."

Lloyd Smith, chief of staff to Emerson, explained that groups like Kasten's caring council is limited in its scope because of regulations that often need to be waived to make a program work. The committee is hoping to identify some of those problem areas.

Gary Stangler, director of the Missouri Department of Social Services, will discuss the Missouri Futures Program, which sets up pilot projects, much like the caring council, around the state.

"The committee is trying to see what latitudes should be in place to allow for an expansion of the Futures Program, caring council, and similar programs," said Smith.

He pointed out that both the administration and Congress recognize the need to make some significant changes in regulations. "They all realize that some regulations and rules are so strict that they keep people, by necessity, to stay on welfare."

Smith added, "They have come across a lot of instances in their hearings where people trying to get out of the cycle of dependency find themselves in a quandary of rules and regulations where if they do a little bit more to help themselves, they lose everything."

One example is in the Food Stamp program. There are some regulations tied to the stamps that cause people to remain on welfare rather than trying to work their way out.

"Some of the rules on food stamps are such where recipients who start to help a little bit can lose the food stamps totally or have them drastically reduced," noted Smith. "They feel like they have to go hungry or give up on trying to improve themselves."

Long is from Valparaiso, Ind., and won a special election in 1989 for her seat. The seat was held previously by Vice President Dan Quayle before his election to the Senate. When Quayle left the Senate, Dan Coates, who had followed Quayle to Congress, succeeded him in the Senate.

She has a doctorate in business from Indiana University and was a college professor prior to her election to the House.

Also scheduled to testify Monday will be Carmen Schulze, director of the Missouri Division of Family Services; and Merna Grigsby, Area 3 director of the Missouri Division of Family Services. They will discuss jobs training, food stamps, and AFDC programs.

Other witnesses may also testify, Smith said.

He added that the hearing, which will probably run all morning, is open to the public.