WELFARE REFORM PASSES EASILY

JEFFERSON CITY -- Two of the three Southeast Missouri state legislators who studied the welfare system, voted for a reform bill they believe fell short of its full potential.

The bill passed by a wide margin.

Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, who served on a joint interim committee to study the welfare system with the other two area legislators, was one of eight senators who voted against the package.

Kinder felt it will accomplish little and cost the state more money.

Voting for the bill were Sen. Jerry Howard, D-Dexter, who was among 25 yes votes in the Senate, and Rep. Jim Graham, R-Fredericktown, who joined 134 colleagues in voting for the conference committee report.

"I voted for it. I still think it does not have enough `sticks' in it, but we have got to do something," said Graham. "Hopefully some things in the bill will improve the system.

"I think everybody is very aware of the breakdown the last 30 years of our welfare system."

Added Howard: "It didn't go as far as I wanted it to; I wanted to build in additional points for limiting welfare. I think most of my constituents want to see a limit to welfare benefits."

But one reason some of the more rigid guidelines were not imposed, Howard said, is because of outside influences.

"It is very, very difficult to impose penalties because of the social and religious advocacy groups out there," said Howard. "I believe in most cases it is a hip-pocket reaction."

Though she was not a member of the interim committee, Rep. Mary Kasten, R-Cape Girardeau, attended most meetings of the panel and provided input through the process. Kasten spoke in favor of the bill on the House floor.

"It is one good first step," said Kasten. "I am especially pleased about the self sufficiency pacts in the bill because it will move people in that direction.

"We must be careful not to set up another system that becomes a costly bureaucracy ... I feel what we are doing will help those who truly want to help themselves. We eventually need to have more initiatives to require responsibility, but at least we have a good first direction with some creative ideas."

All Southeast Missouri legislators, except for Kinder, voted for the bill. Rep. Mark Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, voted for the conference report's approval but then cast one of 14 no votes on final passage.

Said Rep. Marilyn Williams, D-Dudley, "It's not a cure-all, but it does address some things that will provide us with a beginning."

Said Rep. Larry Thomason, D-Kennett, "Overall it is really quite good. I don't think anybody would say we don't need reform," said Thomason.

"But we need to do it in a way that we don't hurt the 85 percent of the people in the system now who are not abusing it.

"It is not quite as strong as I would have written it, but that's natural. It's an excellent bill that should put us in the forefront of any state in the nation that has done welfare reform."

Howard cited a key to getting off welfare. "Because of poverty in and of itself, people do not finish their education which leads them to become dependent on the state for assistance," said Howard.

He said the welfare bill provides educational opportunities and relies on reinforcement of the family support because it encourages families to stay together.

By offering income subsidies for young families as the bill does, it helps keep marriages intact, he said. "Part of this piece of legislation is to keep those families viable and to help with empowerment of people and placing more emphasis on the Missouri Futures program. If we can reinforce the family, hopefully we can also revitalize the social structure."

Howard said the self-sufficiency pacts will help people "become revenue producers rather than revenue users. Our ultimate goal is to get people off welfare and encourage people to be more responsible."

Howard, Graham and Kasten said they all were pleased that the bill includes support for community based programs, which they feel will be more effective in the long run and less costly.

Graham noted that the bill includes provisions to make it clear that more government is not the answer to problems.

"It seems like everything we do up here tends to be by a gradual approach toward fixing things," summed up Graham. "This is a start."

Some of the other provisions in the bill requires mothers under the age of 18 to live with a parent or guardian, requires 18 year old welfare recipients to stay in school, and would make the parents of mothers and fathers under 18 liable for child support.

It also provides tax credits to businesses that contribute to job creating projects. The bill authorizes $5 million of tax credits.

Provisions also offer assistance for child care, transportation and medical services.