Shoshana Hoose, chair of the Social Action Committee, gave the following testimony on behalf of the committee at a March 7th hearing of the Maine Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Appropriations and the Health and Human Services Committee about the governor's proposed welfare cuts.
We urge you to vote against the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families cuts in Governor Paul LePage’s proposed budget. At a time when so many Mainers are struggling financially, it is unconscionable to cut off benefits after a defined period.
We also are deeply concerned about the proposed restrictions on benefits for recent immigrants. Most Maine families have ancestors who came to the United States as immigrants. They worked hard, appreciated their freedom and contributed in many ways to our state. The immigrants who have settled here in recent years are doing the same.
Our state suffers from a slow growth rate and an aging population. Immigrants are helping to staunch those trends and thus boost our economy. We need them as workers and we appreciate them as neighbors. This legislation, however intended, sends a message that immigrants are not welcome in Maine. That is against our long-term economic interests, and it does not reflect the Jewish values that we hold dear. For all of those reasons, we urge you to reject these proposed cuts.
Express your views about the proposed welfare cuts to your state representatives and senators. You can find their contact info here: http://www.maine.gov/portal/government/edemocracy/lookup_voter_info.php
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