A Republican-sponsored welfare reform measure in the Legislature is designed to help welfare beneficiaries by identifying and removing ineligible recipients.
The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Marsha Haefner, R-St. Louis, will allow the Missouri Department of Social Services to contract with a private vendor to verify eligibility of recipients.
Some factors worth noting are:
• The legislation is not new; it is an extension of a proposal approved in 2015. Lawmakers budgeted funds last year and the agency is now searching for a vendor, but the existing provision expires in late June.
• The bill would not change eligibility requirements, largely mandated by the federal government. The intent is not to tighten restrictions, but to remove ineligible recipients.
• The Social Services agency is on board with the verification system, Haefner said. The proposal is not designed to duplicate the work of state employees, but to allow department workers to focus on their cases.
• Haefner said similar verification systems established in other states have saved millions in both state and federal dollars. "It's all taxpayers' money," Haefner said.
Criticism of welfare programs focuses largely on people who game the system and collect benefits to which they are not entitled.
We echo that criticism. Fraud and deceit undermine compassionate programs designed to assist people in need. Welfare cheats not only cheat the system, they cheat the legitimate recipients of welfare benefits.
Haefner's verification system is designed to save tax dollars, reduce welfare fraud, aid legitimate recipients and restore the credibility of the system.
Those are ample reasons to encourage approval.