Republicans override Nixon, enact new welfare standards

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Calling the reform much needed, Republicans in Jefferson City successfully overrode a veto from Democrat Gov. Jay Nixon on a bill reducing welfare benefits for Missourians.

SB24 is aimed at reducing lifetime Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits to 45 months down from 60 and provides no exception for children. The bill also includes new work requirements for recipients that opponents say will adversely and unfairly impact the children of TANF recipients.

Nixon cited more than 6,000 children that would lose benefits — which are capped at $292 per month — beginning January 1, 2016 as his primary motivation for vetoing the bill. On Monday, the Senate spent several hours trying to override the governor as Democrats mounted a lengthy opposition to the bill. The House similarly wrestled with the issue the following day with more than a few emotional exchanges on the floor.

Supporters of the bill say that Missouri has fallen disastrously behind in reforming its welfare system and cite The Heartland Institute, a libertarian think-tank, which cited Missouri as dead last in welfare reform.

“We currently have a broken system that discourages work and needlessly creates welfare dependency,” Sen. David Sater, the bill’s sponsor, said. “Missouri is not the first state to go in this direction, but we are unique because we are reinvesting the money we save into resources to improve work participation and empower more Missourians to become employed and independent.

Opponents of the bill called it “mean-spirited.”

“To take the extraordinary step of overriding a veto to ensure that more than 6,300 of Missouri’s poorest children are plunged even deeper into poverty is mind blowing in its cruelty,” House Minority Leader Jake Hummel said in a statement. “Missouri Republicans are engaged in nothing short of an all-out war on the poor and, unfortunately, they are winning.”

Under the new work requirements, individuals with benefits would have a meeting with a social worker and then six weeks to meet them before losing half of their family benefits. After 10 weeks, they will lose all benefits.