The Women’s Law Project proudly joined an amicus brief supporting litigation challenging the unconstitutional elimination of General Assistance, Pennsylvania’s safety-net program for people with disabilities, people fleeing domestic violence, people completing treatment for substance use disorder, and children in the care of non-relatives.
Weeks v. Department of Human Services is being brought by Community Legal Services and Disability Rights Pennsylvania. The class action lawsuit seeks injunctive and declaratory relief and challenges the constitutionality of Act 2019-12 (“Act 12”), which has multiple provisions, including the elimination of the General Assistance cash assistance program.
The General Assistance-related provisions of Act 12 will take effect on August 1, 2019, ending assistance to over 11,800 Pennsylvania residents.
This is not the first time the powers that be have attempted to unconstitutionally sever the safety-net for Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable citizens. A bill abolishing General Assistance was passed back in 2012 and subsequently found to be unconstitutional. Governor Wolf restored the program.
Of course, our primary concern with the unconstitutional abolishment of General Assistance is the health, welfare, and safety of the Pennsylvanians who rely on it to survive. It is particularly galling, however, to watch the same lawmakers who exploited the disability community in the service of a radical anti-abortion agenda vote to sever the safety net for the same community just weeks later.
The justification repeatedly offered by second-highest-paid lawmakers in the nation for eliminating General Assistance was that the low-income and disabled recipients lacked “accountability” because they did not have to turn in receipts for their expenditures.
It’s ironic, because every lawmaker who voted for the program and lives over 50 miles away from Harrisburg “earns” an allowance of about $187 per day to cover food, lodging, dry cleaning, and other incidentals not covered by their $88,610 base salaries. The allowance doesn’t require receipts.
We joined the brief along with Hunger-Free Pennsylvania, Disabled in Action of PA, Liberty Resources Inc., The Homeless Advocacy Project, The Coalition for Low Income Pennsylvanians, The Coalition for Low Income Pennsylvanians, The AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania, Success Against All Odds, and The Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania.
The Women’s Law Project is a public interest law center devoted to defending and expanding the rights of women, girls, and LGBTQ people in Pennsylvania and beyond.
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