Doyle calls cuts 'war on the poor'



Doyle calls cuts 'war on the poor'

Dem calls cuts 'war on the poor'
$24 million out of budget

By David Callender
May 20, 2005

[Excerpt]

Despite criticism from Democrats that the moves were both anti-family and anti-child, Republican lawmakers approved cutting more than $24 million from Gov. Jim Doyle's budget for aid to low-income families.

In a statement, the Democratic governor charged that Republicans are "dismantling" the state's welfare-to-work program and pricing child care out of the reach of low-income families.

"These actions will force parents to choose between a job and the safety of their kids," Doyle said.

Among the items axed Thursday on a 12-4 party-line vote by the Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee was Doyle's plan to provide cash benefits to women in the third trimester of high-risk pregnancies instead of requiring them to work in the Wisconsin Works, or W-2, program.

"This is really harsh to do something like this," said Sen. Russ Decker, D-Schofield. He said he questioned how lawmakers who consider themselves pro-life could support such a measure.
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Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, said the cuts were a sign that Republicans had declared "war on the poor."

Taylor, who offered a series of motions in an attempt to head off what she said were the most punitive aspects of the Republican cuts, took a cue from the stormy weather outside the Capitol hearing room, stating that "God is raining down on us. He's crying because we're doing an assault on the poor today."

Taylor argued that the Republicans were undercutting the decade-old W-2 program as it was designed by former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson.

"This is a sad, sad day," Taylor told her fellow committee members. "I wish Tommy Thompson could see this right now."

Republicans countered that the cuts were needed because Doyle's budget was short an estimated $25 million for child care and work-related services.

"The rhetoric today doesn't match the reality," said Rep. Scott Jensen, R-Waukesha. "The cuts are from the Doyle administration."

Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, said, "We had to make some really tough decisions because we wanted these (welfare-to-work) programs to continue."

When this story was posted in May 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:


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May 7, 2005: This Week's Top Stories "Peace Corps Online" on recess until May 21 7 May Carol Bellamy taking the reins at World Learning 7 May Gopal Khanna appointed White House CFO 7 May Clare Bastable named Conservationist of the Year 7 May Director Gaddi Vasquez visits PCVs in Bulgaria 5 May Abe Pena sets up scholarship fund 5 May Peace Corps closes recruiting sites 4 May Hill pessimistic over Korean nuclear program 4 May Leslie Hawke says PC should split into two organizations 4 May Peace Corps helps students find themselves 3 May Kevin Griffith's Tsunami Assistance Project collects 50k 3 May Tim Wright studied Quechua at UCLA 2 May Doyle not worried about competition 2 May Dodd discusses President's Social Security plan 1 May Randy Mager works in Blue Moon Safaris 1 May PCVs safe in Togo after disputed elections 30 Apr Michael Sells teaches Islamic History and Literature 28 Apr

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May 7, 2005: Special Events "Iowa in Ghana" on exhibit in Waterloo through June 30 "American Taboo" author Phil Weiss in Maryland on June 18 Leland Foerster opens photo exhibition at Cal State RPCV Writers scholarship in Baltimore - deadline June 1 Gary Edwards' music performed in Idaho on May 24 RPCVs: Post your stories or press releases here for inclusion next week.

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