CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The House of Delegates introduced a bill last week that would place work requirements for applicants of government assistance programs, and state Sen. Ed Gaunch, R-Kanawha, said he is interested in introducing the bill in his respective chamber after passage.
House Bill 4001 would place work requirements on recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program beginning in October. Someone would be able to seek a volunteer opportunity if the state Department of Health and Human Resources deems there are enough opportunities.
Gaunch said constituents have called him about seeing with residents driving luxury cars with out-of-state licenses plates who have signed up for benefits.
“I hear people in my district say West Virginia is becoming a destination for people who see our benefits and see how easy it is to get them,” he said on MetroNews “Talkline.”
“I don’t know how valid it is, but it’s something that needs to be addressed,” he added.
Gaunch introduced a bill last year putting requirements into place, but the legislation did not pass the House.
“The entire intent of these programs is to be temporary,” Gaunch said. “There’s nothing better than a job, and if we can incentivize people to get a job and make changes in our state to make these jobs more readily available, that’s the best welfare for anybody.”
If passed, applications would be processed through a system which checks federal, state and other sources to understand if a person is eligible to receive benefits.
House Bill 4001 would also require the Department of Health and Human Resources to redesign or establish a verification system for identifying eligibility in an effort to minimize waste. The system would also affect those under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.
“One is too many,” Gaunch said. “It is worth it to me if we can just assure ourselves that the people who need these benefits the worst and are entitled to them are the ones that receive them.”
The Trump administration announced last week more states will be allowed to require work requirements for Medicaid recipients.