European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 3, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 columns the stars and stripes sunday. January 3,1988 James Kilpatrick House we fare Reform Bill won f Reform we fare sometimes in is said a cure is worse than a disease. The House of representatives confirmed the truth of that homely aphorism a Tew Days ago when it voted 230-194 Tor a Bill purported to bring welfare  the Bill is a Bud gel Buster and it would t Reform much of anything. Virtually no one wants to defend the pres Cal program. H � a mess. The key Clement is Aid to families with dependent children. Back in 1970 benefits amounted to 14.2 billion a year. In 1986 the Cost was Well Over 115 billion. Seven teen years ago. 1.9 million families were on Ardc. The number now is 3.7 Mil lion. The system has fostered the wasting disease of dependency. To be on the welfare has become a permanent Way of life for Many of our people. Sponsors of the Reform Bill May be credited with the Best intentions. Their Basic idea is to require persons on Wel fare to undergo training that would qual Ify them for jobs in private employment. In the simplistic phrase the sponsors would substitute workfare for welfare. The Bill contains elaborate provisions for Day care centers it contains a whole Sec Tion titled incentives it would put Teeth into efforts to collect child support payments in would preserve medicaid benefits for those who gel off the welfare Rolls. And Over a five year period the Bill would Cost an additional $6 billion. Viewed abstractly these provisions have their attractive aspects. God knows the problem has appalling dimensions. Roughly 20 percent of All american Chil Dren arc poor half of All Black children and More than one third of hispanic children Are living in poverty. One can Challenge the statistical meaning of poor and poverty but by any. Definition of the terms the situation is deplorable. In some ways in is gelling worse. The value of benefits under Ardc and food Stamps has steadily eroded. In order .10 compete in the nest Century we ought to be rearing a generation of Well educated children and Many poor children of sin Gle Parent families Are dropping out teen age pregnancies compound the problem. The Young mothers go on Wel fare they fail to Complete the education that might qualify them for jobs and the Cycle of dependency begins anew. The trouble it that the House Bill Carl Rowan . 1720, cannot be viewed Ai an abstract proposition. Its specific provisions contradict the avowed purposes. Some where Between 70 percent and 80 per cent of the Cost would not be directed toward Job training and education hut rather to an outright increase in benefits. Half a dozen provisions have the reverse effect of prolonging welfare dip cadence and restricting Job opportunities. By Way of example a slate could not require participation in Job training by any Parent of a child leu than 3 years old. Repeated pregnancies would put off such raining indefinitely. No participant could be required to take a Job at less than current pay san los for the position. At least the slate or Federal minimum wage would have to be paid. Under the Community work experience program recipients could not be assigned to jobs for More than sit months. If the House Bill becomes Law Many persons on welfare would find it to their advantage to slay there. Participants could not be forced to take a Job that paid less than their present benefits under Ardc. Food Stamps and medi cupid. These benefits vary greatly slate by state. In California the Benefit package amounts to about $826 a month. As a consequence a Young Mother on Ardc could not be required to take a Job pay ing s4.so an hour even Hough work experience might Lead to a Betler paying Job. The Bill creates double standards. The Dureau of Lubor statistics estimates Tkal nearly 600,000 College students Are work ing at part time jobs to defray their expenses. Under this Dill a person on Ardc could slay on welfare and attend College full time without having to work at All. Rep. Marge Roukema of new Jer sey warns that his arrangement would create a do Onclo entitlement to higher education a grave injustice to those who arc presently working their Way through College at great pc Ronal Sacri  the object of True welfare Reform is to balance benefits Between Loo Lille and Ino much. There ought always to to an incentive to get off welfare and to get on a payroll. Unfortunately inc House Bill by greatly increasing benefits would diminish the incentives. I Don t pretend to know what the answer is. But this Bill in t in. Housing to by desperate a needs an overhaul remember Ronald Reagan s Promise when he started to dismantle social welfare programs that there would always be a safety net in place so that no poor american would of gravely Hurt Well during the last seven years a gaping Hole has developed in that net a Hole big enough for a House to Tumble through. In fact that s just what s falling through housing assistance. Millions of americans Are now unable to gel decent roofs Over their Heads. Since inc Reagan administration came to office fed eral funds for housing have become As elusive As the invisible Man who s in charge of providing them housing and Urban development Secretary Samuel  Sam has presided Over a disgraceful at tempt to gel government out of the housing Busi  since 1980, Hud appropriation to assist lower income americans with housing have been Cut from j33.5 billion to 115.1 billion a year and the lashes would have been even greater had Congress Natl consistently Given More Money than the administration requested. Congress has not passed a housing Bill in seven years during which time most of Huus major housing production and rehabilitation programs have been gulled. Meanwhile the number of poor americans who need housing help has risen. According to Gordon Cavanau a legislative counsel for the Council of Large Public housing authorities a lobbying group a least i million families arc on wailing lists for Public hous ing and in some cities they must wait for years. The Low income housing information service a washing ton based non profit organization estimates that since 1980, the shortage of affordable housing for poor families has More than doubled to nearly 4 million units. The disparity is going to gel worse. During the next decade hundreds of thousands of privately owned federally subsidized units arc Likely to be re moved from the Low income housing Stock because owners will no longer be required to House poor families. Hundreds of thousands More Homes and apart ments will need expensive rehabilitation to remain  country is in desperate need of affordable housing for moderate and Low income people says sen. Alan Cranston  republicans must be feeling a bit guilty about the emasculation of housing programs. A few week ago the House of representatives passed a House sen ate Compromise Bill authorizing about 115 billion a year for lower income housing programs by 359-10 1, More than enough to override a threatened wow House veto. The Senate was All set to give its of Loo bul a Surprise parliamentary lactic by conservatives derailed the measure and its Falc is now Uncertain. The administration a tried to shift responsibility for housing to local and state governments and private groups. Some of these have come through with commendable programs. ,.james Rouse s Enterprise foundation for example supports non profit housing groups that work Al the neighbourhood level helping Ihm increase their Capac Ity to reduce housing costs obtain Low interest financing and find local business support. One Section of the housing Bill that Wai passed by the House would provide funds for expanding this project to other cities. It s True the Federal housing Bill that was pawed by the House would provide funds for expanding this project to other cities we cannot continue to neglect housing for the needy. We must strive anew for the goal enunciated m one of the Early housing arts to provide a decent Home and suitable living environment for every american