Wilson Administration to Appeal Court’s Invalidation of Welfare Cuts

California Department of Social Services Director Eloise Anderson announced Friday that the Wilson Administration will seek reconsideration by the full U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco of a decision by a three-member court panel striking down millions of dollars in welfare cuts.

In a 2-1 decision this week, the panel ruled that the George Bush Administration had illegally approved welfare cuts enacted in 1992 by the California Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Pete Wilson. The court said that in approving the cuts, federal officials had failed to consider the hardship they would impose on poor families.

Over the past four years, maximum cash benefits have been cut from $694 a month to $593 for an average family of three. Anderson said it is too soon to know the impact of the ruling if it is upheld, but estimated that the state could lose $175 million a year if it has to restore benefits to higher levels. Cash benefits are paid to the needy through Aid to Families With Dependent Children, a federal and state program commonly called welfare.