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Vote In Favor Against Not Voting Undecided

Democrat 10% 85% 4% 49 total votes

Republican 70% 25% 3% 58 total votes

Comments

1) Rep. Bieda's "no vote explanation"  by Admin003 on May 19, 2006 
Rep. Bieda, having reserved the right to explain his protest against the passage of the bill, made the following statement:

"Mr. Speaker and members of the House:

House Bill 4309, while it contains some good changes, still contains many problems. Unfortunately, even those ideas that may have some merit are to be implemented in a way that virtually ensures bad outcomes for FIP recipients, particularly those that need it the most. I think that the increase for advocacy services through the Legal Services Association of Michigan will help save the state money, and will help SSI eligible clients get through the process more quickly, and it is one of the better things in this bill. On the other hand, there are a number of other issues that will create more problems and have very little positive impact. Although I support improving and reforming our welfare system, and while this bill contains some good reforms, as a whole the bill has too many problems and I cannot in good conscience support this bill in its entirety. Thus I voted 'no.'

2) Rep. Bieda's "no vote explanation"  by Admin003 on May 19, 2006 
Rep. Bieda, having reserved the right to explain his nay vote, made the following statement:

"Mr. Speaker and members of the House:

Reducing the lifetime limit, from 48 to 24 months, only compounds some of the problems the bill as a whole contains. First of all, this limit is retroactive to October of 1996, meaning that tens of thousands of people, including at least 20,000 children will be summarily purged from FIP cash assistance on January 1, 2007. This is not a smart way of approaching a complex issue. And frankly, this is clearly one of those hot-button political issues that seems more designed for use in someone's negative campaign literature than an honest or thoughtful approach to a complex public policy issue."

3) Rep. Bieda's "no vote explanation"  by Admin003 on May 19, 2006 
Rep. Bieda, having reserved the right to explain his nay vote, made the following statement:

"Mr. Speaker and members of the House:

This is one of the cruelest means of dealing with a vulnerable population that I have seen presented in the House of Representatives. If this amendment were to be adopted, it would almost immediately impact more than 20,000 children and would punish those who have followed the rules. This is a cruel and shameless approach to a complex problem, one that is undoubtedly advanced simply to score cheap political points against those who stand for decency in their approach to some of our most vulnerable individuals."

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