FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 7, 1998
Contact: Dave Spooner
(202) 225-3329
WASHINGTON, D.C. - CONGRESSMAN BOB GOODLATTE (R-VA), CHAIRMAN
OF THE HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE WITH JURISDICTION OVER THE FEDERAL FOOD
STAMP PROGRAM, TODAY REJECTED A REPORTED PROPOSAL BY PRESIDENT
CLINTON TO GIVE FOOD STAMPS TO NON-CITIZENS, CRITICIZING THE PRESIDENT'S
PROPOSAL TO EXPAND FEDERAL WELFARE BENEFITS AT A TIME WHEN CONGRESS'
WELFARE REFORMS ARE SUCCEEDING.
According to Administration aides, President Clinton will propose
to extend food stamp benefits to non-citizens in his fiscal year
1999 budget submission. The President has failed to indicate how
he would pay for such a major expansion of the food stamp program.
"For the past century, our laws have said that immigrants
who are likely to go on welfare should not be allowed to enter
the country, and those who do have been subject to deportation.
Non-citizens should look to themselves, their families, and their
sponsors, not the American taxpayers, for financial support,"
said Goodlatte, who chairs the House Agriculture Subcommittee
on Department Operations, Nutrition, and Foreign Agriculture.
"This Administration fails to understand that welfare hurts
people by creating a never-ending cycle of dependency that lasts
for generations. Furthermore, it's fiscally irresponsible to use
good economic times as an excuse to permanently expand welfare,"
Goodlatte said.
Goodlatte has long led congressional efforts to reform the federal
food stamp program and to end food stamp waste, fraud, and abuse.
Last year, Goodlatte's H.R. 1000 - a bill to end prisoner participation
in the food stamp program - passed the House of Representatives
by a vote of 409-0. Goodlatte has pledged to continue to use his
subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over the food stamp program,
to aggressively pursue food stamp waste and fraud and to further
the goals of welfare reform.
Congressman Goodlatte represents Virginia's Sixth Congressional
District, which includes Roanoke, Lynchburg, and the Shenandoah
Valley.