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Missouri lawmakers send Nixon bill that cuts welfare lifetime eligibility

Legislation that would reduce lifetime eligibility for most welfare recipients in Missouri is on its way to Gov. Jay Nixon's desk.

An earlier version of the bill would have cut lifetime eligibility for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, or TANF, in half, from 5 years to two and 1/2.  But a compromise between the House and Senate reduces that period to 3 years and 9 months.

Senate Bill 24 would also require TANF recipients to be employed or seeking employment, or else face the loss of half of their benefits for a maximum of 10 weeks.  After that, they could forfeit all benefits.  TANF recipients would also have to be employed to be eligible for SNAP, formerly known as food stamps

Credit UPI/Bill Greenblatt

Rep. Jon Carpenter, D-Gladstone, argued that thousands of needy Missourians, including children, would suddenly lose benefits on Jan. 1, 2016.

"I believe the number comes out to 9,465 people, and 6,310 of whom are children, (and) that's just day one," Carpenter said.  "People will continue, as the months pass, hitting that limit, and that number will go up and up and up, and it will be many more thousands of people who will be kicked off ofTANF, who, if we don't pass this bill, wouldn't be."

Republicans argued that the "T" in TANF stands for "temporary," and that it was designed to wean low-income Missourians off of government assistance. 

"The program has grown to the point where nobody really gets off it because the verifications aren't done, because we don't go back and look, and because there's no effective way to get people from welfare to work," said House Speaker John Diehl, R-Town and Country.

Senate Bill 24 passed the Missouri House on Thursday 111-36 along a mostly party-line vote.  It passed the Senate on Tuesday 25-9, with every Republicans voting "yes" and every Democrats voting "no."  Before the Senate vote, Jason Holsman, D-Kansas City, said that he could have supported the bill if the 9,465 due to lose benefits on Jan. 1 had been "grandfathered in."

The bill was also passed early enough for House and Senate Republicans to override a potential veto from Nixon before the end of the 2015 legislative session.

Follow Marshall Griffin on Twitter:   @MarshallGReport

Copyright 2020 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit .

Marshall Griffin is the Statehouse reporter for St. Louis Public Radio.
Marshall Griffin
St. Louis Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a native of Mississippi and proud alumnus of Ole Miss (welcome to the SEC, Mizzou!). He has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off an old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Liberty Belle, and their cat, Honey.
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