Tempers Flare Over Time Limit For Welfare

Tempers flared Wednesday over how long welfare recipients should stay on the dole, but legislative budget negotiators agreed that unwed teen mothers no longer will get direct cash welfare grants to set up their own homes.

The harmony of two days’ worth of bipartisan talks ended on a strident note late Wednesday when House conservatives rejected a Senate overture to lengthen the time limit for welfare recipients.

House negotiators have agreed to extend their original two-year limit by an 18-month “rampdown” period during which benefits would drop by 20 percent every six months.

“I can unequivocally say no,” Rep. Suzette Cooke, R-Kent, the lead House negotiator, said when urged by the Senate to adopt a five-year limit, including the ramp-down.

Sen. Kevin Quigley, D-Lake Stevens, the lead Senate negotiator who already had shaved two years from the original Senate position, grew emotional as he referred to thousands of children who could be hurt if thrown off welfare before one of their parents gets hooked up with a job.

“These are real kids,” he said. “At what human price are we willing to go forward with this? How many people will miss the safety net and hit the concrete? This is about kids, as innocent as can be.”

House Majority Caucus Chairman Todd Mielke, R-Spokane, retorted, “Living on public assistance for six years is not in the best interests of the child.” He called dependence on welfare cruel.

“It beats the hell out of being homeless, living under the freeway or in a car,” Quigley shot back.

“We’re heading down the tubes right now,” Sen. Lorraine Wojahn, D-Tacoma, lectured the 30-year-old Mielke. “You’ve never lived through a depression, and I have.”

“That’s why we have welfare,” said Rep. Pat Thibaudeau, D-Seattle.

Mielke was unmoved.

“There’s a strong sentiment in our caucus about shorter time limits,” he said.

Other lawmakers started arguing, voices getting angry. Sen. Jeannette Wood, R-Woodway, finally flashed the sign for “timeout” and managed to restore decorum. The group then recessed for the day, and Mielke shot out of the room without speaking to anyone.

“We’re adamant,” Wojahn told a reporter. “If this is the way it is, we’re not going to have a bill this year.”