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Group Speaks Out Against Public Assistance Cuts

DETROIT (WWJ) - Local ministers in Detroit have issued a warning that pending legislation that would  put a 48-month cap on cash assistance to the poor, with no exemptions, is a recipe for disaster ... or worse.

Rainbow PUSH Detroit Chapter President Rev. Alexander Bullock says the poor children of Michigan will suffer if the state legislature votes this week to end cash assistance and utility assistance programs.

"This 48-month cap, once it's in place, it will remain in place," Bullock told reporters, Tuesday. "So, people will be cut off of the cash assistance, potentially have no access to bill payment assistance for their utilities, so I believe we are creating a recipe for a riot."

"We must come together and we must push past these legislative proposals and seek to serve the all of Michigan, not just corporations that get an 86 percent tax break, but all of Michigan," said

Rainbow PUSH members are asking Michigan legislators not to pass, and Governor Snyder not to sign, legislation that cuts public funding to safety net programs that assist Michigan children, seniors and families.

PUSH has scheduled a Town Hall meeting for Thursday, August 25, to update the public on the issue.

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