News Release: Michigan Catholic Conference Statement on Welfare Reform Veto

(LANSING)—Michigan Catholic Conference President and Chief Executive Officer Sister Monica Kostielney, R.S.M., made the following statement today regarding the administration’s veto of legislation intended to reform the state’s welfare program:

“The welfare reform bills that were vetoed today would have sliced a major hole in Michigan’s social safety net. Shifting the state’s poorest residents toward self-sufficiency is an admirable goal, provided that proposed policies allow for preferential treatment of those whom the state is responsible to protect first and foremost. Unfortunately, measures passed by the legislature did not accomplish this objective.

“The state must now work to ensure that any further attempts to reform assistance programs are conducted with dignity, respect and compassion for the most vulnerable and needy population. Defending human life from conception until natural death must be a priority for those who develop public policy in this state.”

Michigan Catholic Conference is the official public policy voice of the Catholic Church in this state.

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