State of Minnesota Archives: on Welfare & Poverty
Al Franken:
Pay in full for school lunches instead of partly subsidizing
Congress last month passed a bill that cuts food assistance funding--but Sen. Al Franken is nevertheless trying to extend federal funding for students to receive hot school lunches.Franken on Monday ate lunch with the kindergartners at Meadow Lake
Elementary School in Brooklyn Park, to bring attention to the significance of subsidized lunches. Nearly 8 in 10 students at Meadow Lake come from lower-income families who qualify for free or reduced lunches. "Kids who haven't eaten at lunch don't do as
well in school. This is wrong," Franken said.
Under the current rules, children from families with incomes below $30,615 for a family of 4 are eligible for free meals; those with incomes below $43,568 for a family of 4 are eligible for reduced-price
meals.
Franken is re-introducing legislation, the Expand School Meals Act, to pay the rest of the cost for those students who only qualify for the reduced-price meals. The senator introduced the legislation in 2009 and 2010, but it went nowhere.
Source: CBS News on 2014 Minnesota Senate race
Mar 18, 2014
Heather Johnson:
Regulate but advocate for independent charity
I advocate freedom of choice in government implemented and funded social programs and deregulation of private business and charity in order to boost economic and social community efforts for all citizens.
I advocate choice in business, an end to crony monopolies, an end to regulation and limitation of efforts for alternative forms of fuel, organic living, and sustainable housing practices.
So long as companies and charities whether privately funded or voluntarily publicly funded, do not infringe upon the natural rights of humans to their lives, liberties, and properties, I recognize that regulation is another form of force and coercion.
I advocate for independent charity and small business and recognize that government's only role within business and charity is to mediate and dispense justice in the event that a crime of fraud, force, or coercion occurs.
Source: 2014 Minnesota Senate campaign website, "Platform"
Jul 31, 2014
Jason Lewis:
People on government assistance are parasites & scoundrels
Lewis' career as a conservative commentator led to a publishing deal--his book "Power Divided is Power Checked: The Argument for States' Rights" hit shelves in 2011--and frequent guest hosting gigs on Rush Limbaugh's show.Opinions offered by
Lewis during his years on the air surfaced in his previous campaigns. He came under fire for calling people on government assistance "parasites" and "scoundrels" and making demeaning comments about African-Americans. In 2018,
CNN unearthed audio of his multiple disparaging comments about women. A Lewis aide said that "it was his job to be provocative" on the radio.
Lewis returned to the airwaves after he lost his seat in Congress in 2018. He now contributes brief
commentaries called "Minnesota Moments" on KTLK-AM. On an episode posted Aug. 15, he referred to Smith as the state's "accidental senator" and called her "arguably the most liberal [senator] in the country."
Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune on 2020 Minnesota Senate race
Aug 26, 2019
Jason Lewis:
Supports end of "fair housing rule" promoting affordability
Lewis released the following statement applauding HUD Secretary Ben Carson's announcement to scrap the Obama-era "fair housing" rule. "The Trump Administration's plan to deregulate housing is a great step towards undoing the Obama-era regulations that
have burdened the housing industry across the nation. Local officials shouldn't have to get permission from bureaucrats who map census tracts and analyze housing stock for 'affordability' before they can develop their own neighborhoods."
Source: 2020 Minnesota Senate campaign website LewisForMN.com
Jul 8, 2020
Mark Dayton:
No 5-year limit on cash benefits
I do not support the current five-year lifetime limit on receipt of cash welfare benefits for low-income families with dependent children.
Source: Minnesota Newspaper Association Election Questionnaire
Jul 2, 2000
Mike McFadden:
Let states decide school lunch payments, not feds
Congress last month passed a bill that cuts food assistance funding--but Sen. Al Franken is nevertheless trying to extend federal funding for students to receive hot school lunches. "Kids who haven't eaten at lunch don't do as well in school.
This is wrong," Franken said. Under the current rules, children from families with incomes below $30,615 for a family of 4 are eligible for free meals; those with incomes below $43,568 for a family of 4 are eligible for reduced-price meals.
Franken is re-introducing legislation, the Expand School Meals Act, to pay the rest of the cost for those students who only qualify for the reduced-price meals.
Businessman Mike McFadden said the matter of paying for school lunches should be left to the states to handle. The Minnesota House did, in fact, vote last week to set aside $3.5 million a year to cover the cost of reduced-price lunches.
Source: CBS News on 2014 Minnesota Senate race
Mar 18, 2014
Paul Gazelka:
We need to relook at how we do welfare, require work
We already know that there's this workforce shortage that has been coming. But it's clear the only thing that has changed that made this dramatic shift is COVID, how we've responded to it, the unemployment benefits and all that. And so we need to relook
at how we do welfare. Anybody that can work needs to be working in some fashion, not just for their own livelihood but for the good of the entire state.
Source: Grand Forks Herald on 2022 Minnesota Gubernatorial race
Sep 28, 2021
Tim Walz:
Repair shelters, invest in affordable housing
Every Minnesotan deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Walz and Flanagan's 2022 Local Jobs and Projects Plan includes more than $450 million in safe and affordable housing projects, including a historic $250 million investment in Housing
Infrastructure Bonds to provide supportive housing for Minnesotans across the state. The plan makes investments to repair existing shelters for the most vulnerable Minnesotans and significant investments in addressing housing for our veterans.
Source: 2022 State of the State Address to Minnesota legislature
Jan 18, 2022
Tim Walz:
$1 billion investment in affordable housing
INCREASING ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING: Governor Walz signed a historic $1 billion investment in housing into law--building a foundation for safety, stability, and economic growth across the state. Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor
Flanagan also took new action to protect tenants' rights.CUTTING CHILD POVERTY: Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan established a nation-leading child tax credit to cut child poverty in Minnesota by up to one-third.
Source: 2022 Minnesota Governor campaign website mn.gov/Governor
Aug 6, 2024
Tim Walz:
Feeding our Future scandal: an unacceptable scam
[GOP opponent Scott] Jensen pressed Walz over the Feeding Our Future scandal. Federal authorities charged 50 people in a Minnesota-centered scam that allegedly stole at least $250 million in federal funds meant to feed needy children but that went
instead to luxury goods, jewelry and property in Kenya and Turkey. Federal investigators said the scam was uncovered by the Minnesota Department of Education.Jensen and other critics have questioned whether the Walz administration should have
known sooner and moved faster to stop the scam. "Over and over again, we have seen a culture of waste, fraud, abuse and cost overruns swept under the rug," Jensen said.
Walz called the loss of federal money in the scam unacceptable. "We'll get the answers when we get the investigation done," Walz said, noting that some of those charged have already pleaded guilty.
Source: MPR News on 2022 Minnesota Gubernatorial race
Oct 28, 2022
Tim Walz:
Multifamily housing for seniors, veterans, and homeless
Our plan also invests in making sure every Minnesotan has a safe and affordable place to call home. We're backing the development of multifamily housing so that seniors, families, and anyone facing homelessness can find a place to be.
And we want to update the Minneapolis Veterans Home to better serve those who have served us.
Source: 2024 State of the State Address to the Minnesota legislature
Mar 26, 2024
Peggy Flanagan:
Peggy's childhood home from Section 8 housing voucher
Raised by a single mom in her hometown of St. Louis Park, Peggy had a home because of a Section 8 housing voucher. Other public programs helped Peggy's mom, Pat, pay for school lunch, health insurance coverage,
and child care--which ultimately allowed Pat to go back to school at St. Kate's to become a phlebotomist. This career move helped lift Peggy and her mom into the middle class.
Source: 2026 Minnesota Senate campaign website TK.com
Apr 28, 2025
Jeff Johnson 2018:
Goal is to have all able bodied welfare recipients working
Candidate Jeff Johnson says if he's elected governor, all able-bodied adults receiving welfare would have to actively seek work, get training or actually be working.
Johnson says, "We have a work requirement for certain programs, but not all of them, and there are questions about how well they are actually enforced. It's kind of spotty, depending upon where you are in the state."
Source: KLGR 1490AM on 2018 Minnesota gubernatorial race
Jul 30, 2018
Tim Walz:
COVID fraud: jail the criminals; don't target the community
Q: President Trump is targeting the Somali community, citing fraud as the reason for his [ICE] crackdown. Dozens of people of East African descent have been charged, convicted and sentenced for stealing more than $1 billion in taxpayer money from
government programs during COVID. Do you take responsibility for failing to stop this fraud in your state?GOV. TIM WALZ: Well, certainly, I take responsibility for putting people in jail. Minnesota is a prosperous state, but that attracts criminals.
Those people are going to jail. But to demonize an entire community on the actions of a few, it's lazy. These are programs that were meant to serve students with autism, to housing, & to making sure people had enough to eat. People are taking advantage
of that, they're going to prison. That's totally disconnected with demonizing an entire group of people who came here,fleeing civil war. But that's Donald Trump: Deflect, demonize, come up with no solutions. He's not going to help fix anything on fraud.
Source: Meet the Press interview on 2026 Minnesota Governor race
Nov 30, 2025
Page last updated: Feb 07, 2026