An advocate for domestic violence victims couldn't hold back the anger and tears after hearing two state senators suggest women could intentionally get battered to extend their welfare payments.
"This is how poor women are always characterized. They're just a bunch of welfare cheats. This is all made up," said a disgusted Gina Cornia of Utah Issues."That's frankly insulting to women who everyday face that," she continued. "It's just so offensive."
Cornia's outrage was directed at comments Sens. Lorin Jones, R-St. George, and Parley Hellewell, R-Orem, made during a Workforce Services Interim Committee meeting Wednesday. The committee was discussing a Workforce Services' proposal to extend public assistance to abuse victims beyond a Dec. 31, 1999 deadline. On that day, many welfare recipients will hit a three-year limit on financial aid.
People come up with all sorts of creative ways to cheat the system, Jones said. A woman, he said, could have her boyfriend beat her up for an extra $300 in welfare payments.
During the meeting, Cornia scolded Jones saying, "To suggest that women would do something like that is inappropriate."
It's harder for domestic violence victims to disclose they've been abused than to make up a story about it, said Cornia, her voice cracking with emotion as she explained that she was a victim herself.
Several minutes later, Hellewell spoke to defend Jones.
A Utah County woman, he said, killed three of her babies, so it's not out of the realm of possibility that a woman would allow herself to be beaten for extra welfare money. "Those kinds of things happen all the time. I think we would have to admit that," he said.
Hellewell was referring to Darcie Jo Baum who police suspect killed three of her infant children over a period of seven years. Baum was found dead with a newborn baby in August. There was no indication the incidents had anything to do with her receiving public assistance.
Cornia stomped out of the meeting upon hearing Hellewell's remark. She returned a few minutes later.
"I was mad," she said later. "I had to compose myself and come back."
When the committee voted to end the 45-minute discussion, it essentially tabled the proposal to extend payments past the deadline to abused individuals on welfare, 95 percent of whom are single mothers.
Workforce Services officials say the measure is needed to expand the safety net for people on welfare.
Twenty percent of current public assistance recipients -- or about 2,000 people -- will qualify for extensions. Workforce Services estimates the family violence option would cover 50 families. The families would not be included in the 20 percent under the proposed legislation.
Jones said he opposes the bill because there are already provisions for extensions, and the state isn't likely to reach 2,000 extensions anyway.
But committee co-Chairman Sen. Robert Muhlstein, R-Mapleton, figures there will hundreds if not thousands of abuse victims who would qualify.
Cornia supports the idea of giving abuse victims on welfare an extension. "It's just wise planning. It's really preparing for the future rather than crisis management," she said.