State of Maine Archives: on Welfare & Poverty
ACLU:
Critical to let immigrants receive public assistance
Summary by Maine ACLU: This critical law allows some immigrants, including asylum seekers who are not allowed to work, to receive General Assistance for up to two years. This means hundreds of new Mainers will still be able to pay the rent
and buy food for their families, regardless of where they were born.Summary by Bangor Daily News: The proposal originally sought to eliminate General Assistance benefits for certain immigrants but was amended to allow the benefits to
continue for up to 24 months. General Assistance provides emergency aid for housing, medicine and other basic needs. "My bill was amended to do the exact opposite of what it originally was supposed to do," said Sen. Eric Brakey. "I've been vocally
opposed to it going into place."Legislative outcome:Passed Senate 29-5-1, Roll Call #305, on Jun/18/15; Passed House 81-63-7, Roll Call #334, on Jun/22/15; Enacted Jul/7/15 without signature from Gov. LePage
Source: ACLU review of Maine legislative voting records: LD 369
Janet Mills:
Build nearly 1000 more affordable homes over 8 years
Assistant Majority Leader Ryan Fecteau has proposed a Maine Affordable Housing Tax Credit program, similar to the Maine Historic Tax Credit program which helped boost the economy in recent years.
This proposal would create nearly 1,000 additional affordable homes over eight years, increasing Maine's current rate of production by 50 percent. Send that bill to my desk. I will sign it.
Source: 2020 Maine State of the State address
Jan 21, 2020
Shawn Moody:
Lifetime cap on welfare; with strong fraud detection
Use state government to help promote the dignity that comes with a job, not just a government check, by connecting training and work availability with those who try entering the system, and performing a skills assessment when somebody applies for
benefits. Protect and encourage a strong fraud detection unit. Work on programs to end the use of welfare EBT cards in the drug trade. Support a stronger lifetime cap on "TANF" (i.e. Temporary Assistance) benefits.
Source: 2018 Maine Gubernatorial race website ShawnMoody.com
Sep 1, 2018
Paul LePage:
Expanding welfare entitlements is not compassionate
For years I have listened to liberals talk about compassion. Subsidizing solar panels for wealthy homeowners at the expense of our needy is not compassionate. Raising taxes on hard-working families to expand welfare entitlements
for able-bodied people is not compassionate. Catering to the activists in the halls of the State House instead of the struggling family businesses on Main Street is not compassionate.
Source: 2018 Maine State of the State address
Feb 13, 2018
Mary Mayhew:
Time limits on welfare benefits, to promote employment
For too long the 1996 federal welfare reforms of time limits and work requirements had been ignored--to the detriment of needy families. There is no doubt that the best way out of poverty is a job. This is what led to our enforcement of a 5-year
lifetime limit on TANF benefits. I was not surprised that the results of promoting work rather than discouraging it were shown to be dramatic and a stark contrast to the years of allowing people to remain in poverty, dependent on government assistance.
Source: Forbes Magazine interview on 2018 Maine Gubernatorial race
Jun 1, 2017
Mary Mayhew:
Auditor: DHHS improperly managed federal welfare funds
Officials in Gov. LePage's administration were aware that a federal law prohibited their use of millions in federal welfare funds on services for the elderly. But DHHS [headed by Mayhew] justified the spending by developing a selective interpretation of
the relevant federal law. In October 2016, Maine's state auditor released a report highlighting "improper management of funds at the agency level," an "overly aggressive approach" to managing federal grants and "troublesome" financial practices.
Source: Bangor Daily News on 2018 Maine Gubernatorial race
Feb 7, 2017
Janet Mills:
Demands release of publically funded welfare study
Atty Gen Janet Mills demanded in a letter that Gov. Paul LePage release a publically funded report crafted by the controversial Alexander Group to anyone who requested it. When asked how he responded, LePage said: "Tell her to sue me." The letter was
sent to LePage and Mary Mayhew, whose Dept of HHS signed a $925,000 contract for the Rhode Island-based Alexander Group to study Maine's welfare system, including the possibility of expanding Medicaid as allowed by the federal Affordable Care Act.
Source: Bangor Daily News on 2018 Maine Gubernatorial race
Jan 29, 2017
Eric Brakey:
Disallow using food stamps to purchase junk food
What does it mean, in the year of Donald Trump, to be a Republican? As the party prepared to nominate him at its convention next week, a committee of delegates was trying to figure that out, starting with the issue of whether poor people should have
junk food.The proposal had come from Eric Brakey, a libertarian state senator from Maine and a member of the 112-person panel tasked with drafting the official Republican Party platform this week. "I would like to put in language specifying that when
Republicans are in control of the federal government, we will allow states to put restrictions in place so that SNAP benefits"--better known as food stamps--"cannot be used to purchase junk food," Brakey said from his seat on the dais, five tiers of
bunting-clad tables in a cavernous convention-center basement. In Maine, Brakey explained, the Republican governor had sought such a restriction but been denied by the Obama administration.
Source: The Atlantic magazine on 2018 Maine Senate race
Jul 14, 2016
Jared Golden:
Allow some immigrants to receive public assistance
Summary by Maine ACLU: This critical law allows some immigrants, including asylum seekers who are not allowed to work, to receive General Assistance for up to two years. This means hundreds of new Mainers will still be able to pay the rent
and buy food for their families, regardless of where they were born.Summary by Bangor Daily News: The proposal originally sought to eliminate General Assistance benefits for certain immigrants but was amended to allow the benefits to
continue for up to 24 months. General Assistance provides emergency aid for housing, medicine and other basic needs. "My bill was amended to do the exact opposite of what it originally was supposed to do," said Sen. Eric Brakey. "I've been vocally
opposed to it going into place."Legislative outcome:Passed Senate 29-5-1, Roll Call #305, on Jun/18/15; Passed House 81-63-7, Roll Call #334, on Jun/22/15; Rep. Golden voted YES; Enacted Jul/7/15 without signature from Gov. LePage
Source: ACLU review of Maine legislative voting records: LD 369
Jun 22, 2015
Sara Gideon:
Allow some immigrants to receive public assistance
Summary by Maine ACLU: This critical law allows some immigrants, including asylum seekers who are not allowed to work, to receive General Assistance for up to two years. This means hundreds of new Mainers will still be able to pay the rent
and buy food for their families, regardless of where they were born.Summary by Bangor Daily News: The proposal originally sought to eliminate General Assistance benefits for certain immigrants but was amended to allow the benefits to
continue for up to 24 months. General Assistance provides emergency aid for housing, medicine and other basic needs. "My bill was amended to do the exact opposite of what it originally was supposed to do," said Sen. Eric Brakey. "I've been vocally
opposed to it going into place."Legislative outcome:Passed Senate 29-5-1, Roll Call #305, on Jun/18/15; Passed House 81-63-7, Roll Call #334, on Jun/22/15; Rep. Gideon voted YES; Enacted Jul/7/15 without signature from Gov. LePage
Source: ACLU review of Maine legislative voting records: LD 369
Jun 22, 2015
Eric Brakey:
Allow some immigrants to receive public assistance
Summary by Maine ACLU: This critical law allows some immigrants, including asylum seekers who are not allowed to work, to receive General Assistance for up to two years. This means hundreds of new Mainers will still be able to pay the rent
and buy food for their families, regardless of where they were born.Summary by Bangor Daily News: The proposal originally sought to eliminate General Assistance benefits for certain immigrants but was amended to allow the benefits to
continue for up to 24 months. General Assistance provides emergency aid for housing, medicine and other basic needs. "My bill was amended to do the exact opposite of what it originally was supposed to do," said Sen. Eric Brakey. "I've been vocally
opposed to it going into place."Legislative outcome:Passed Senate 29-5-1, Roll Call #305, on Jun/18/15; Sen. Brakey voted NO; Passed House 81-63-7, Roll Call #334, on Jun/22/15; Enacted Jul/7/15 without signature from Gov. LePage
Source: ACLU review of Maine legislative voting records: LD 369
Jun 18, 2015
Mike Thibodeau:
Allow some immigrants to receive public assistance
Summary by Maine ACLU: This critical law allows some immigrants, including asylum seekers who are not allowed to work, to receive General Assistance for up to two years. This means hundreds of new Mainers will still be able to pay the rent
and buy food for their families, regardless of where they were born.Summary by Bangor Daily News: The proposal originally sought to eliminate General Assistance benefits for certain immigrants but was amended to allow the benefits to
continue for up to 24 months. General Assistance provides emergency aid for housing, medicine and other basic needs. "My bill was amended to do the exact opposite of what it originally was supposed to do," said Sen. Eric Brakey. "I've been vocally
opposed to it going into place."Legislative outcome:Passed Senate 29-5-1, Roll Call #305, on Jun/18/15; Sen. Thibodeau voted YES; Passed House 81-63-7, Roll Call #334, on Jun/22/15; Enacted Jul/7/15 without signature from Gov. LePage
Source: ACLU review of Maine legislative voting records: LD 369
Jun 18, 2015
Bruce Poliquin:
War on Poverty has failed after spending $16 trillion
Strengthen the Welfare Safety Net while Reducing Dependency: ACTION ITEMS:- Promote jobs as best cure for poverty
- Save welfare for those truly in need
- Stop dependency that traps families in poverty.
Fifty years ago,
President Lyndon Johnson declared the War on Poverty in America. Since then, $16 trillion taxpayer dollars have been spent on welfare programs to eliminate those conditions.
Today, however, 15% of Americans still live in poverty; there were 19% when the initiative began. By any objective measure, the well-intended War on Poverty has been a sad and expensive failure.The American dream is not about becoming comfortable
entrapped in big government welfare programs for our subsistence. Rather, it's to take advantage of our unique free market democracy to improve our lives, live independently, care for our families, and enjoy more happiness and freedom.
Source: 2014 Maine House campaign website, PoliquinForCongress.com
Nov 4, 2014
Paul LePage:
Give people in need a hand up; don't give unneeded hand-outs
The state of Maine plans to reinstate work requirements for food stamp recipients, part of a broad effort by Republican Gov. Paul LePage (R) to reform what he has characterized as the state's unhealthy reliance on welfare.Maine has for years taken
advantage of a federal waiver of work requirements for food stamp recipients. [Now LePage's] policy change would affect an estimated 12,000 residents who collect roughly $15 million in benefits, paid for by the federal government.
"People who are in
need deserve a hand up, but we should not be giving able-bodied individuals a handout,'' LePage said. "We must continue to do all that we can to eliminate generational poverty and get people back to work. We must protect our limited resources for
those who are truly in need and who are doing all they can to be self-sufficient."
LePage has set his sights on broad welfare reform. This spring, he introduced a four-bill package aimed at reducing fraud in welfare payouts and encouraging job-seeking.
Source: Washington Post on 2014 Maine gubernatorial race
Jul 24, 2014
Eliot Cutler:
We need welfare reform but not demonization of recipients
LePage lumped Social Security and Medicare into the definition of welfare: "It doesn't matter what liberals call these payments, it is welfare, pure and simple," LePage said. "Liberals believe that redistribution of wealth--taking money from hard-working
taxpayers and giving it to a growing number of welfare recipients--is personal income. It's not. It's just more welfare expansion."Eliot Cutler was critical: "I can't believe he meant to do that because it's extraordinarily insulting to the thousands
of Maine people who worked all their lives and are now retired & trying to make ends meet by relying on Social Security and Medicare, programs to which they--and for that matter, Gov. LePage--are entitled," Cutler said. "I understand that we have welfare
challenges in Maine and we need reform. I just don't talk about it in the way he does. I want to talk about how we can fix the problem. He is simply demonizing people and now expanding the definition of welfare beyond any definition I've ever observed."
Source: Portland Press Herald on 2014 Maine gubernatorial race
Jun 26, 2014
Paul LePage:
Maine grew at 0.8% if we discount federal welfare payments
LePage includes Social Security among 'welfare' programs. He also puts Medicare and jobless aid in that category while arguing that Maine's personal-income ranking would be better if such federal payments were excluded.The federal data put Maine's
personal-income growth at 0.5% in the first three months of 2014, well below the national rate of 0.8%. One of the biggest reasons cited for the low ranking was Maine's refusal to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
LePage, however, said
that Maine's net personal earnings increased by 0.8%. The governor arrived at his number by excluding what the federal bureau calls "personal current transfer receipts": payments from the federal government for Social Security, Medicare, unemployment
benefits and Medicaid expansion. Maine is one of only four states (IN, TN and WY are the others) where transfer receipts declined this year. LePage said he chose not to follow the federal bureau's definition because it conceals welfare benefits.
Source: Portland Press Herald on 2014 Maine gubernatorial race
Jun 26, 2014
Paul LePage:
Maine's TANF welfare system is too generous
Gov. LePage announced that he will seek changes to the state's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program in order to avoid millions of dollars in federal penalties that he said result from a welfare system that's too generous. Democrats said the
problems in the TANF program are not new and that LePage is highlighting the issue now to bolster his image as a welfare reformer.According to LePage, the state could be liable for up to $13 million in federal fines for not meeting national TANF
guidelines from 2007 to 2010, though that amount can be reduced if Maine takes quick action. At issue is that the state did not meet federal requirements for the number of TANF recipients who were working while receiving benefits. "We must fix this Maine
law in order to comply with federal law," said LePage. "Maine is overly generous in allowing a wide variety of exemptions from the work requirement, which are not recommended by the federal government, making it impossible to meet federal standards."
Source: Bangor Daily News on 2014 Maine gubernatorial race
Jan 3, 2014
Eliot Cutler:
Never abandon citizens who are unemployed, ill, or hungry
Maine continues to experience a growing gap between public needs and our ability to meet them.
Maine should never abandon its citizens who are unemployed or underemployed, face illness or disease without the means to obtain good health care or who go to bed hungry every night.
Every business understands and every family on a budget knows, that when resources don't align with expenses, something has got to give.
The choices we make and the policies we pursue can dramatically increase opportunity for all Mainers if we stop playing politics and confront these serious challenges head on.
Source: 2014 gubernatorial campaign website, CutlerForMaine.com
Dec 31, 2013
Shenna Bellows:
No one in Washington stands up for people who are hurting
Democrat Shenna Bellows released a promotional web video offering a glimpse of what next year's Senate-race election narrative will look like. Bellows, who formerly headed the Maine ACLU, plans to challenge Collins on issues like government
surveillance, economic fairness, and political courage."In the past two decades, Washington has manufactured an economic crisis, an environmental crisis, and a constitutional crisis,"
Bellows says to the camera. "No one in Washington is standing up for the people who are hurting... Maine needs a senator with the courage to lead."
The video, which is just over two minutes long, features Mainers talking up the candidate's "middle-class values," work ethic, and effective leadership. Bellows appears to be going with "the carpenter's daughter" as her one-line characterization.
Source: The Portland Phoenix AdWatch: on 2014 Maine Senate race
Dec 12, 2013
Paul LePage:
End welfare-on-day-one: No instant eligibility for benefits
Maine is one of just a few places in the country that offers "welfare-on-day-one," for legal non-citizens. Our budget saves $20 million by eliminating instant eligibility for welfare benefits and sends the message that work
and independence are what is expected of everyone in Maine. Our budget also includes a true five-year time limit on welfare eligibility and incentives to help move people from dependence to self-sustaining employment.
Source: Maine 2011 State of the State Address
Feb 10, 2011
Charlie Summers:
Welfare recipients must work or train 40 hours a week
Summers indicates support for the following principles regarding welfare and poverty. - Require welfare recipients to spend at least 40 hours a week in a combination of work and training programs.
-
Continue to give states and local governments flexibility in and responsibility for welfare programs through federal block grants.
- Support housing assistance for welfare recipients.
Source: Maine Congressional Election 2008 Political Courage Test
Nov 1, 2008
Susan Collins:
Block grants for state and local flexibility in welfare
Collins supports the following principles regarding Welfare and Poverty Issues:- Require welfare recipients to spend at least 40 hours a week in a combination of work and training programs.
-
Continue to give states and local governments flexibility in and responsibility for welfare programs through federal block grants.
- Support housing assistance for welfare recipients.
Source: Maine Congressional Election 2008 Political Courage Test
Jun 18, 2008
Cynthia Dill:
Increased work requirements for able-bodied recipients
Dill supports these principles regarding welfare:-
Support increased work requirements for able-bodied welfare recipients.
Source: Maine 2006 Congressional National Political Awareness Test
Nov 1, 2006
Matt Dunlap:
Expand state services to include the working poor
Dunlap indicates support for the following principles regarding welfare. - Increase employment and job training programs for welfare recipients.
- Provide tax incentives to businesses that hire welfare recipients.
-
Provide child care for welfare recipients who work.
- Increase access to public transportation for welfare recipients who work.
- Use federal TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) funds to expand state services to include the working poor.
Source: Maine Congressional 2002 National Political Awareness Test
Nov 1, 2002
Page last updated: Oct 13, 2021