Jones: Patrick’s Unwillingness to take Responsibilityfor Welfare Abuses Indicative of Lackluster Leadership

BOSTON—House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. issued the following statement in response to Governor Patrick’s accusation that House Republicans are holding up a welfare bill for political purposes.

The people of Massachusetts are growing tired of Governor Patrick’s unwillingness to take responsibility for a single thing that goes wrong within state government.

Governor Patrick is perfectly happing touting his record of reform, many of which have been less than meaningful, on the campaign trail. However, the moment a negative story is written in the newspaper, he’s more than happy to point his finger at everyone else.

Just to set the record straight, my Republican colleagues and I, as well as many Democrats in the House, are frustrated with not only the sudden urgency of this bill, but also several provisions contained in the legislation. Governor Patrick’s bill, which has been sitting in the Committee on Third Reading since July 1st, does not tackle the issue of EBT cards being used to purchase lottery tickets or cash from EBT cards being used to purchase cigarettes or alcohol.

I have reached out to the Chairmen of the Ways & Means Committee and Third Reading to work to address this issue but neither has seen fit to get back to me on this issue. I take that as a strong signal that Democratic Leadership is not serious about passing meaningful reform. Instead, they want to pass a bill just for the sake of saying they did something.