Recent comments argued for and against the House bill aimed at cutting the food stamps program and requiring recipients to have jobs.
"(This proposal) picks on the poorest of the poor. If you want to get people financially independent, not using (food stamps), the area we need to focus on is getting people trained for the jobs that are available. " — Melissa Johnson, of the left-leaning Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (AJC Sept. 19).
Regarding the job-training requirement, "you don't have to do this right away, but over time, (able-bodied adults) should be required to work or prepare for work or at least look for work in a supervised way as a condition for getting aid." — Robert Rector of the conservative Heritage Foundation (AJC Sept. 19).
"Our goal is to … get the program back to what it's supposed to be, which is temporary assistance for people who need the help. Over the last several years, it's moved from that into essentially a way of life and, quite honestly, it robs those very people who have become dependent on that program from the economic opportunities that come from work. There are a tremendous number of people out there who work and receive the benefits, and I think those who are working and receive the benefits would continue to." — Austin Scott, Republican congressman representing Georgia's 8th District (AJC Oct. 30 and Sept. 19).
"They (Republicans) look at it as lazy folks, lazy black people, urban people, immigrants. That's an image thing. I could understand all of this if we would at the same time put an apparatus together, emphasize the jobs-training program, get skills out, get employers in. But just to arbitrarily say, 'Go get a job.' They're out there trying to get a job." — David Scott, Democratic congressman representing Georgia's 13th District (AJC Oct. 30 and Sept. 19).
"You want to see the needy people who really need the service get it, and you want to see the scammers intent on getting a freebie get the hell off of it. " — Ken Hardy, a Woodstock retiree (AJC Oct. 30).
"Everybody is working harder, doing more with less, trying to stretch our resources. It's very difficult at this stage to figure out how to do more." — Bill Bolling, founder, Atlanta Community Food Bank (AJC Oct. 30).
"This bill eliminates loopholes, ensures work requirements and puts us on a fiscally responsible path. In the real world, we measure success by results. It's time for Washington to measure success by how many families are lifted out of poverty and helped back on their feet, not by how much Washington bureaucrats spend year after year." — U.S. Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind. (New York Times, Sept. 19).
"It's a sad day in the people's House when the leadership brings to the floor one of the most heartless bills I have ever seen. It's terrible policy trapped in a terrible process." — U.S. Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass. (New York Times, Sept. 19).
