Hunger, Homelessness, Poverty and Healthcare: Bush and Kerry - Where Do They Stand?

Opposes cuts to Section 8 voucher program, and other federal housing assistance programs. (10) Authored the Welfare Reform and Housing Act in 2002, allowing states to use Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) fundsto provide rental assistance. (11)

Supports the HOPE VI program to revitalize public housing. (12)

Worked to raise HUD rent subsidies to match market rates and keep rent affordable. (14)

Wrote legislation establishing the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which gives need-based matching grants to states to build new rental units for low-income families. (15)

President Bush's 2005 budget cuts $1.6 billion from the Section 8 voucher program, potentially edging 250,000 households out of the program -- 12.5 percent of those currently participating. (16)

The Bush administration has focused on the Zero Down Payment Initiative as a way to help families afford homes by eliminating the required 3 percent down payment. Supporters expect this initiative to benefit 150,000 families a year. Families would be charged higher insurance premiums by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)under zero down payment. (17)

Supports increasing the federal minimum wage to $7 an hour, citing that the current minimum wage is at its lowest level relative to average wages since 1949. (20)

Kerry voted for an amendment to the Higher Education Bill S.1882 that would allow welfare recipients to meet work requirements through enrollment in vocational or post-secondary education. Kerry voted for Welfare Reform in 1996, andfor the replacement of federal welfare guarantee with block grants to the states. (21) For more information on how this bill slashed benefits to the needy, see "Shredding the Safety Net," a Food First Backgrounder.

Bush is seeking reauthorization of the 1996 Welfare Reform law , changing this law by adding new provisions which would no longer count education as a work activity, and increase the required number of work hours per week to 40. (23)

Supports the five-year lifetime limit on welfare benefits.

Proposes freezing federal funding for cash assistance programs (the largest is Temporary Aid to Needy Families, TANF) at 1996 levels.

In 2006, the Bush administration plans to cut $177 million from the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition program -- forcing an estimated 187,287 mothers out of the program. (24)

Bush cites private charities as those who should help the down-and-out in America, advocating that "armies of compassion" composed of churches and charity groups, rather than Government, should assist the poor. (25)

"We must end the disgrace of being the only industrialized nation on the planet not to make health care accessible to all our citizens." Voted to allow importation of cheaper prescription drugs from Canada. (31)

Plan to extend healthcare to 95 percent of Americans, and 99 percent of children. Families earning up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level would be covered automatically. Other families could expect to receive $1,000 in health care premium relief.

Bush proposes health savings accounts (HSAs) and tax credits as the way to help families afford healthcare. The HSAs are tax-free,portable accounts to be used on routine medical expenses and are available to individuals who already have healthcare.

The new Medicare prescription drug law forces seniors to go through an HMO, PPO or other managed healthcare system for their prescription drugs. While various drug discount cards are available, each card is for specific group of prescription drugs and only one dis count card is allowed per person. Participants are given a brief window to switch discount card programs, but discounts can change at any time. For low-income seniors, the government will cover a maximum of $600 per year in drug costs. (33)