Many hard working people in our state believe that if you are able bodied and don't have children at home to care for that you should have a job and take care of your own needs. While this seems like a basic principle of being a responsible adult to most people there are some that are quite content to keep the couch in their living room company and let the state take care of their basic human needs.

That will no longer be the case if a bill passed by a House committee is approved by a Louisiana Senate committee and then both bodies move to approve the legislation One of the bigger issues with the proposed changes in food stamp qualifications according to comments made by Malinda White a Democrat who serves the Bogalusa area is the high unemployment in the oil and gas industry.

Is this bill saying, let’s just say these 16,000 men and women should come to the Capitol to go to this committee to seek a waiver to eat?

Meanwhile the author of the legislation Representative Jay Morris of Monroe, a Republican suggested a different take.

If they are able bodied and they don’t have children that depend on them and they don’t have any disability, I think it’s better for them in the long run, I think they’re more likely to find a job if they’re getting up every day.

The bill passed by a 58 to 28 margin and just to be clear this legislation does not change the way the food stamp program in Louisiana is administrated. This bill simply provides a vehicle for the legislature to make changes in the food stamp program and how it is administered in the future.

The legislation will now be passed on to a Senate committee for further debate.

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