St. Cloud-area lawmakers clash on welfare

St. Cloud-area lawmakers clash on welfare
By Mark Sommerhauser • msommerhauser@stcloudtimes.com • February 17, 2010

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Twitter FarkIt Type Size A A A ST. PAUL — A proposal to allow more Minnesotans to get food stamps inserted two St. Cloud-area lawmakers into an emotional debate Tuesday about partisanship and people in need.




Rep. Larry Hosch, DFL-St. Joseph, and Rep. Steve Gottwalt, R-St. Cloud, clashed over the bill that would remove limits on the assets a person may own while receiving state food stamps.
Rhetoric escalated in a committee hearing after Rep. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka, said the measure would allow people to obtain food stamps even if they wear a Rolex watch or drive a Mercedes.
Several lawmakers hoped the resolution to Tuesday's exchange leads to a more bipartisan Legislature in the coming weeks, when lawmakers tackle the big issue of 2010: resolving the state's budget deficit.
Hosch is cosponsoring the food-stamp bill, which he said mimics a policy used by 27 other states and would not cost Minnesota anything, since a federal program supplies the funding.
Hosch said recipients still would have to meet income guidelines to qualify for food stamps.
But Abeler questioned if removing the $7,000 asset limit would allow those who do not need the program to exploit it.
That drew fire from Rep. Jeff Hayden, DFL-Minneapolis, and Hosch, who called Abeler's comments "a disservice" that perpetuate stereotypes about people who receive public assistance.
"God help us," Hosch said, "that none of you have to go through the situation that these families are: a lost job, an accident on the road."
Hosch's and Hayden's remarks then drew an equally indignant reaction from Gottwalt.
"How dare you imply in your comments that we don't care as much," Gottwalt said. "We have a legitimate right to ask questions ... without our intent being impugned."
Gottwalt said DFLers' reaction to Abeler's statement reflects a stereotype about Republicans: that they're "fat cats" who don't understand what it's like to be in need.
Almost two decades ago, Gottwalt said, he stood in an unemployment line after being laid off from his job at a radio station.
Gottwalt later told the Times he "probably would have supported" the food stamp bill if it had come to a committee vote.
He said DFLers' comments speak to the "root of the hard-core partisanship that we all hate ... the assumption that the other side has ill intent."
Abeler said at the end of the hearing that he spoke "badly," but added the subsequent discussion of his comments could be "really good practice" for the Legislature's impending budget debate.
"We have to get the governor to sign something at the end of the day that we all agree on," Abeler said, "or we will have nothing."
Hosch said he didn't intend to second-guess anyone's motives for questioning the bill.
"But when we perpetuate stereotypes," Hosch added, "I am gonna fight back every time."