Topeka senator's vote defeats bill to take food stamps for failure to pay child support

A Republican senator from Shawnee County on Wednesday cast the deciding vote to defeat a bill that would have taken away food stamps for failure to pay child support.

Sen. Rick Kloos, R-Berryton, flipped his vote after asking for a preliminary tally that showed him switching would cause the bill to fail.

"I'd like to change my vote to no," said Kloos, who is pastor of God's Storehouse. "This is a difficult decision, but I do think there's a lot of kids that we do need to keep in mind."

House Bill 2141 failed Wednesday on a 20-20 tie. The bill, which previously passed the House 76-46, would require custodial and non-custodial parents to cooperate with child support enforcement to be eligible for food assistance. A delinquent payment would automatically disqualify them from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for that month.

Under the current law, which would have been repealed, individuals with SNAP benefits are already required to cooperate with child support unless they have "good cause" not to.

"This bill would make it less likely that parents could support their children and more likely that children and their parents will go hungry," said Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau, D-Wichita. "Reducing access to food for Kansans who are struggling financially is unnecessarily harsh and ineffective. Noncustodial parents working hard to find higher-paying employment opportunities will have those efforts undermined."

Sen. Cindy Holscher, D-Overland Park, called in "cruel and punitive." She suggested the Legislature could find better ways to ensure child support payments are made than "withholding an average of $6.10 of daily payments that is used to help children secure food."

"Find another way to get people to pay child support, don't starve them," said Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, D-Lenexa. "This bill holds access to food hostage in order to force people into parenting the way legislators in this building think they ought to, regardless of the impact on the children involved."

Sen. Beverly Gossage, R-Eudora, was the only defender of the bill when senators were explaining their votes.

"I think there is obviously some misunderstanding," Gossage said. "Currently the custodial parent, which is typically the mom, single mother, two or three children, must participate in this program under state law. This is just adding that supposedly deadbeat dad who is not paying child support to the family to help the children."

More: Kansas Republicans want welfare reform. Here's what it means for food stamp work requirement.

Medicaid expansion effort in Kansas fails

The bill is part of a broader welfare reform effort this session by House Republicans with bills backed solely by a lobbyist for Florida-based Opportunity Solutions Project and opposition from a multitude of Kansas interest groups. Opportunity Solutions Project has touted the efforts as a solution to workforce shortages.

One of the welfare reform bills passed the House after debate featured an attempt by House Democrats to force a vote on Medicaid expansion.

After about 45 minutes of debate on the merits of Medicaid expansion, the rules committee deemed the amendment not germane, despite House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, suggesting earlier in the day that it would be germane.

"This bill is as germane to Medicaid expansion as you can get," Hawkins said in a House GOP caucus, explaining that a previous plan to vote on the bill was put off because a handful of Republican legislators were absent.

More: Advocates push Medicaid expansion, but Laura Kelly says Kansas Republicans won't negotiate

"Expect today a vigorous debate on Medicaid expansion," he said. "Whenever this bill comes up, everybody needs to be in there. We don't want to get caught and not have everyone. They're going to bring an amendment, there's going to be vigorous debate, we just need to vote it down and move along."

The debate came on House Bill 2140, which expands existing work and employment training requirements for food stamps for able-bodied adults without dependents ages 50-59.

HB 2140 passed 82-42 with one Republican absent. It would need 84 votes to override a gubernatorial veto.

The bill follows similar legislation last year imposing tougher requirements on able-bodied adults without dependents ages 18-49. Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed that bill, but Republicans overrode her.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Topeka senator defeats Republican bill on food stamps, child support