While I have been in the Senate, we have done a great deal of work to protect the integrity of our anti-poverty programs by investigating and preventing fraud and misuse.
We have bolstered anti-fraud investigations and prosecutions with staff and funding, voted to support a bill to create a comprehensive, transparent reporting system to stop both individual and health care provider fraud, and last week, the Senate approved a bill to prohibit the use of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds to pay for the “Prohibited Five”: tobacco, alcohol, lottery tickets, strip clubs and bail. A provision was also added to prohibit retailers from accepting TANF funds for these products.
I voted to support the bill. I listened to many constituents who strongly believe Maine isn’t doing enough to address the misuse and potential misuse of public assistance funds. We need to do more to protect this program, protect taxpayers and protect people who have no other choice but to rely on TANF to get them through a tough time by making sure money is available for families who need it.
TANF is a last resort for Maine families going through a rough patch. There are about 8,000 Maine families who receive TANF assistance, including more than 12,000 children. More than 9 in 10 of those families are headed by women, and one in four of the people (including children) who receive TANF are escaping domestic violence situations.
Thous-ands of families have used TANF to get back on their feet. The program was there for them when they needed help, and I want to make sure it is there for families in the future.
To do so, it is important that TANF funds are spent in the way they are intended: to keep a roof over children’s heads and food on their plates. It should not be spent on the “prohibited five.”
In order to do this, it is important to have a level of responsibility for both the individuals who misuse TANF funds and the stores that sell prohibited items. That’s why Senate Democrats strengthened the bill by expressly prohibiting retailers from selling these prohibited items to people attempting to use their TANF funds to purchase them. Just as stores cannot sell tobacco products to children or alcohol to people under age 21, stores should not sell prohibited items to people using TANF money to buy them.
Even though the amendment we voted on accomplished everything and had the exact same prohibited uses as Gov. LePage’s original bill, not one Republican senator voted with us to ban these purchases.
Compromise is when both sides get together to make sure each side gets something they want, but not everything they demand. The bill we passed in the Senate was a good compromise. Passing legislation in a divided government requires compromise, and it is disappointing that none of my colleagues from across the aisle were willing to put partisan politics aside and vote for this middle ground, common-sense reform to strengthen the TANF program and prevent fraud.
— Sen. Linda Valentino is a Democrat who represents the communities of Senate District 5: Buxton, Dayton, Old Orchard Beach, Saco and part of Biddeford. Her column appears on the second Monday of each month.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
