Religious leaders seek waiver on food stamps

Bishop Howard J. Hubbard of the Albany Diocese and a half-dozen representatives of other religious denominations banded together to demand that the Governor apply for a waiver from new welfare reform laws that require able-bodied adults between the ages of 18 and 50 to work 20 hours a week or lose their food stamps.

Without working, applicants are eligible for only three months' worth of food stamps in a three-year period.

Going hungry

"I feel compelled to be here," Bishop Hubbard stated. "The issue we're talking about is people going hungry in our state. The values and teachings of the Catholic Church couldn't be clearer when applied to an issue such as providing...for our brothers and sisters."

The problem with the new welfare reform legislation, the religious leaders explained, is that there aren't enough jobs in New York for all of those who will be required to work.

Catholic leaders in the Albany Diocese had already expressed concern that many of those referred to in the legislation as "able-bodied" are actually recovering from drug or alcohol addiction or unable to work for other reasons.

New York State can receive a waiver from the reform laws (a) for counties with unemployment rates higher than 10 percent, or (b) based on the fact that there are too few jobs available. Gov. Pataki has agreed to the former, but not the latter -- and of the entire state (14 counties of which are within the Albany Diocese), only the Bronx has high enough unemployment to qualify for the waiver.

Missing jobs

Rev. Dan Hahn of the Lutheran Statewide Advocacy begged for the waiver "based upon not having enough jobs. There's no shame in that."

Without a waiver, he added, "I can just imagine trying to prove pockets of 10 percent unemployment: the poor's [aid] depends on their community being more devastated than the next!"

The Pataki administration claims that only 16,000 people would stand to lose their food stamps. However, a study by the Nutrition Consortium of New York State cited by the religious leaders stated the total as 105,000 -- nearly 5,100 of whom live within the boundaries of the Albany Diocese.

Increasing need

Federal welfare reform laws will not take effect for three months, but food pantries and soup kitchens across the state have already seen an increase in those seeking aid. In the Albany Diocese, Catholic Charities agencies and pantries have claimed a 23 to 25 percent jump in services of late.

Government cuts have already forced many smaller food pantries to close, and there is no way for churches to provide for such staggering numbers of those in need, said the religious leaders.

"We cannot handle it," said Archdeacon Michael Kendall of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. "People die from this, you know. And so I ask: Are we extending the death penalty into social service?"

'Hollow' Thanksgiving

Bishop Hubbard called this a "matter of grave moral concern. Are we turning into a state where we punish those who play by the rules? Is this not kicking someone when they're down?"

He called the Governor's plan not to seek a waiver and to let New Yorkers go hungry "outrageous at any time, but especially when the stock markets are booming and millionaires are thriving."

Without the waiver, he said, "my celebration of Thanksgiving will be somewhat hollow and diminished."

Other comments

Other religious leaders speaking out to continue food stamps for the poor had their own comments:

* "[The Bible doesn't claim] `Thou shalt take food away from the poorest of the poor.' We're trying to feed them, and we're beyond capacity."

* "Terminating food stamps for such a large number of people who will be unable to find gainful employment...is unfair and counterproductive to any effort to replace welfare with workfare." -- Rabbi Aryeh Wineman, New York City Association of Rabbis

* "There's always a place at God's table. It's time to set a place at the table for everyone." -- Bishop Susan Morrison, Albany Episcopal Area of the United Methodist Church

* "The Bible teaches us clearly to open our hand to the poor and needy in our land. Do we dare turn our backs on God?" -- Rabbi Lynn Koshner, Congregation Berith Sholom, Troy

* "We're not anti-prosperity; we're pro-truth." -- Rev. Dan Hahn, Lutheran Statewide Advocacy

* "For every dollar our state thinks will be saved, several hundred dollars will have to be spent down the road to repair the damage. The casualties will be many." -- Rev. Ward Greer, Albany United Methodist Society

(12-05-96)

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