Welfare Bill Ok’d

A House committee Thursday approved a Republican proposal to redesign Washington’s welfare system, thwarting Democratic amendments to restore lost benefits to legal immigrants, raise the minimum wage and boost subsidized child care.

Rep. Suzette Cooke’s bill includes all the provisions required by the new federal welfare law, such as work requirements, a five-year limit on benefits, and license suspensions for parents who fail to pay child support.

But it doesn’t address provisions in the federal law that end food stamps and other benefits for legal immigrants.