Voces de la Frontera: Reynolds Misguided Proposal Would Cut Safety Net For The Poor, Disadvantaged, And Elderly

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Milwaukee— Voces de la Frontera challenged State Senator Tom Reynolds today to publicly disclose how many of his low income, disadvantaged, and elderly constituents would fall victim to his proposal (SB 567) to cut the safety net for his community’s most vulnerable.

As reported today in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Reynolds bill passed in the middle of the night on the last day of the legislative session and currently awaits action by Governor Doyle.

“This proposal is an unnecessary and misguided attack on immigrants, an irresponsible elimination of the safety net for the poor, disadvantaged and elderly, and a very costly, unfunded mandate that will impose millions of dollars of administrative costs on counties and the state,” said Christine Neumann-Ortiz, Executive Director of Voces de la Frontera, “We challenge Tom Reynold’s to shine a light on how this would affect the low-income children and families, citizens with mental illness and other disabilities, the homeless, and the seniors he is supposed to give a voice to in Madison.”

A number of citizen groups have spoken out against the bill, including Wisconsin Council on Children & Families, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, Institute for Wisconsin’s Future, Voces de la Frontera, League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Association of Health Plans, the ACLU, Wisconsin Catholic Conference, and the Hunger Task Force.

In testimony last month on Reynolds proposal, John Huebscher, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference, said “Vulnerable people whatever their origin, have a special claim on the concerns of the community. This “consistent life ethic” and the “option for the poor” are key themes in Catholic thought and teaching.”

“For someone who wears his religion on his sleeve, you have to wonder why Reynolds has proposed something that is so out of touch with our values,” Neumann-Ortiz said.

Reynolds proposal would weaken the public health care system and health safety net by creating roadblocks to all state public support for poor children and families, the mentally ill and disabled citizens, and Wisconsin seniors who rely on — Medical Assistance, BadgerCare, SeniorCare, Food Share, Wisconsin Works, State SSI supplements, child support establishment and enforcement, heating assistance, relief block grants used by counties to provide health care services, and nutrition programs for women and children.

Reynolds acknowledged in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that, “He could not say exactly how much money would be saved or what the cost of providing a greater level of verification would be” because SB 567 does not have a fiscal analysis, therefore, it has not yet been determined how many people will be impacted by removing the safety net and what the increased costs to taxpayers will be when high costs emergency services are sought by those shut out of needed public services.

“There has been no data offered by Tom Reynolds or anyone else to suggest that people who are non-citizens are illegally taking advantage of public programs,” Neumann-Ortiz said, “The fact is, this proposal cuts up the safety net for those who need help the most and turns our back on the shared value and responsibility to lift people out of poverty.”