FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: SHOW-ME STATE REPRESENTATIVE RECEIVES NATIONAL AWARD FOR EMPOWERING MISSOURIANS TO RETURN TO WORK
AWARD HONORS LEADERSHIP ON WELFARE REFORMS TO BREAK THE CYCLE OF DEPENDENCY
Missouri Rep. Sue Allen was honored with the Foundation for Government Accountability’s 2015 Defender of Opportunity Award Monday for her leadership in the state to reform the welfare system and empower residents to return to the workforce.
Strong partnerships with the FGA and leaders like Allen have helped save 8 million Americans from dependence on government welfare, while creating opportunities that increase family incomes, and saving taxpayers around the country half a trillion dollars. Allen supported legislation in Missouri to ensure popular work requirements and asset tests for food stamps programs remained in place without express legislative approval, with the goal of protecting the state’s safety net for the truly needy.
“The goal of our social safety net is to catch those who fall and then help them up again, and to support those who truly need our help, and Rep. Allen committed to addressing both needs with common-sense welfare reforms for Missouri,” said Tarren Bragdon, FGA CEO.
“Welfare works best when it’s geared towards helping people achieve independence and feel pride, not when it traps them in a cycle of dependency, and when it’s focused on the truly needy. That’s why work requirements enjoy high levels of bi-partisan support, and why people get asset tests. Food stamps aren’t for the guy who won a million dollars in the lottery, they’re for the disabled and elderly.”
Allen is one of a handful of state leaders being recognized from around the country for their work in 2015, and she is among the first group of legislators to be honored with this annual award.
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