Karen Thurman: “I have to tell the Members, I am shocked at this attempt one more time to further erode one of the few protections we…”

“I have to tell the Members, I am shocked at this attempt one more time to further erode one of the few protections we have for laidoff and downsized employees in America. The Kasich-Ney amendment actually penalizes people who play by the rules and do exactly what we want people on welfare to do: find a job. Someone who loses her job during a recession is often forced to turn to food stamp assistance to meet her basic needs. If this person acts responsibly and finds a new job within 3 short months, she should not be disqualified, yes, for the rest of her adult years, from further food stamp assistance. If 10 years later this welfare success story is downsized, as so many people in modern America have been, the Kasich-Ney amendment would deny her the temporary assistance needed for her to get back into the job market. Why? Because it is about money, not policy. Good policy would be to reinforce the goal of moving people to work instead of offering an amendment that penalizes people who are trying to fulfill that goal.”