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October 29, 2005
Katrina:Bill Would Lift Aid Ban for People with Drug Felonies
October 28, 2005
Hurricane Katrina victims with prior drug convictions would be able to get federal benefits like food stamps and student loans under legislation introduced in Congress this week.
The Houston Chronicle reported Oct. 26 that the Elimination of Barriers for Katrina Victims Act, introduced by Reps. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), John Conyers (D-Mich.), and Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), calls for a three-year suspension of current laws that ban such benefits, along with public-housing assistance, for convicted drug offenders.
"The bill does not affirm or support acts of crime, (but) it should not be labeled or stigmatized," said Lee. "These are individuals who have lost everything and to a great extent are victims."
One such victim is New Orleans resident Antoinette Samson, 31, who said her family cannot get aid in Texas because her husband was convicted of crack-cocaine possession. The Samsons and their three children are currently being housed by a church. "What is there to do?" she said. "I have no money, I don't even have a job."
The measure may face opposition in Congress, although supporters warned that denying aid to drug offenders only encourages them to return to crime.
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Posted by lois at October 29, 2005 07:55 PM