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• ~~ \·-· '1:•~',X u -"1_: -~ ·:~-ff ·:• ~f: t ~ O M 1ViU N I 'F Y l~ELATJIONS CCOMMI§§JIOl\J .. ,ss ~ ESTABLISHED BY TIIE MAYOR AND THE BOA RD OF ALDERMEN, NOVEM BE R , 1966 1203 CITY HALL, ATLANTA GEORGIA 30303 TELEPHONE 5 t£-H63 E XT. DR, SAMUE L W. WILLI AMS, Owirmn11 TH E II 0 "10 R ABLE S/,M ~IASSE LL, J R. , Ex-Officio Presidc:nt, Board of Aldermen COMMISSION ME.\ IB ERS MR. T . M. ALEXAN DER, SR. MR. R. BYRON ATTRIDGE MRS . SARA BAKER MISS HELEN BULLARD MR. R. J . BUT LER R EP. J A MES E. DEAN · MR. ROllERT DODllS R EP. C. G. EZZARD MR. L. L. GELLERSTEDT , J R. MR. CH ARLES IIART DR. ROB ERT E. LEE MRS. F. W. PATf ERSO N RABB I J ACO B ~I. ROTIISCII ILD MR. M. 0 . R YAN MR. J ACK S ELLS MR. PAU L Sll lEL DS MR. L. D. Sl ~IO:,./ MRS . MARY STEl'l! ENS DR. J . RA NDOLPII T AY LO R TO: Commission M e rn.b e rs FROM: Nat W e lch AJW /v , ·' S UBJECT : Report On Washington Trip on "Welfare Freeze " DATE: March 24, 19 69 ,, MR. NAT WFLCH Executil1e Director O n March 20, I took four very carefully selecte d w e lfare mot h e rs to W a shing t o n so tha t they could t e ll t heir s tori e s · dir e ctly to the ir r e p resentatives. He re ar e th e c om1nents m a d e b y each: A. Senator Talma d ge 1. 11 1 don I t thi nk t he Cong r e s s o r the state is g oing to l et p e ople go hung ry. 11 2 . H e said th a t h e h a d vote d l as t year to d e lay th e "fr ee z e" a nd "I s ee no r eas o n w hy I s h o uld n o t d o so thi s y ear ." 3 . T a l mad g e was di s tU1·b e d that a pprox imate ly 5 0% of we l fare ca ses involved husband s w ho d ese r te d th e ir fami lies. He s t rong l y fee ls t h a t Sta t e and Fe d e r a l laws on this shou ld b e II t i g h tened up." B. S ena t o r Russ e ll. H e was i ll. We t a lk e d with C har l e s C am pb e ll a t o p aid who h a d the se com m e nts: 1. Russe ll h a d r e c e ive d m or e mai l thi s y ear on the fr eeze tha n on prac tic a lly any other s ubj ect. 2. Ru sse ll b e li eves in: a. Inc r eas i n g D a y- C ar e C enter p ro g r a ms (" we h ave many g ood f ede ra l p r o g r a ms tha t a r e ina d e qua t e ly funde d ") . b. E xte nding a id to h e l p , pe opl e fi n d jobs . 3. " T h_o se w h o a i-e a ble t o w o rk s hould w o rk; tho se w ho ar e un a b l e t o w o rk sho •_ild r e c e ive we lfare b e n e fits . The diffi c ult y i s to s e pa rat e t ho se i n n ee d fro m t hos e w h o shoul d not b e o n th e w e lfar e rolls .. " 4. If it came up fo r a v ote , C a mpb e ll p re dic t e d that Ru sse ll wo uld vote t o e x t e n d th e f re eze another y e ar. C. Con g ressman B e n Bla c kburn 1. W e t a lke d wi th h im fo r a soli d hoLir . " h e lpf ul. 11 H e d e scribed our v i sit as �• ESTABLISHED BY TH E MAYOR AND THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN, NOVEMBER, 19G6 1£03 C/Tl' HALL, ATL,1NTA GEORGIA 30303 TELEPHONE 5 21-,~63 EXT. ~33 DR. SAMUEL W. WILLIAMS, Owimwn THE HONORABLE SAM ~IASSELL, JR., E:x-O/ficio President, Board of Aldermen COMMISSION MEMBERS MR. T. M. ALEXANDER, SR. MR. R. BYRON ATTRIDGE MRS. SARA BAKER MISS HELEN BULLARD .MR. R. J. BUTLER REP. JAM ES E. DEAN MR. ROBERT DOBBS REP.' C. G. EZZA RD MR. L. L. GELLERSTEDT, JR. MR. CHARLES HART DR. ROB ERT E. LEE MRS. F. W. PATTERSON RABBI JACOB M. ROTHSCHILD MR. M. 0 . RYAN MR. JACK SELLS MR. PAUL SHIELDS MR. L. D. SIMON MRS. MARY STEPHENS DR. J. RANDOLPH TAYLOR PAGE 2 TO: Commission Members FROM: Nat Welch C. Cong r e s sman B en Bla ckburn 2. Although he is not pre pared to vote "yes" now, he predicted that the freeze would be extended. 3. He is co_ncerne d that the situation is g e tti ng worse and the present prog ram is not worki n g. 4. Althoug h h e b e lieve s in a b a lance d budget, h e s a id h e advoc a t e s training prog r a m s strong ly e noug h to g o into d e bt to p ay fo r them. 5. He a s ked for detailed information about children on welfare in Fulton and DeKa lb County. a. Tota l numbe r of childr en receivi n g b e nefits a ges O to 5, 5 to 10, · 10 to 15 a nd s o forth. b. Numb er of one c hild famili es , two child families , 5 and a bove , etc. c. F a milies with fathers who have de se rt e d them. d. Percenta g e of illegitimate childr en i n volved. e. F e d e ral a nd Sta t e s t a tue s o n f a th e r s w ho d ese rt. D. Congr·essman F l etcher T h om p s on 1. Conc e rne d th a t the Fede r a l G o v e rnm e nt is s p e n d i n g_ mor e mone y th a n it is taking i n. 2. "Ther e is prac tic a lly nothin g I can do. This m a tter i s in the h and s o f Wilbur M ills {Cha irman o f the Ways and M eans C omrni ttee) . He r u l es t his Comrn.it t e e with an i ron h a nd. 11 3. Tho mps on d i d practic a lly all the t a lking a nd w e h a d a c hance to say v e r y litt l e . H e s p e n t a gr e at d ea l of tim e t a l king a bou t th e we l far e sit ua tion i n N e w York C i t y. W e told h i1n, "W e h a d come to di scuss t he h ung ry p e ople in Fulton County; G ~ o rg i a . " 4. " Thi s is not j u s t a n Atl a nta or G e or g i a p r obl e m but a nationa l prob l em 5 . " T h e t a x pay ers are screaming a b o ut h ig h t a x es and re d uc i n g exp enditures. 11 6. I aske d him w as th e r e anythi ng e l se I sho uld t e ll the press on our vi s it other than his conc er n ... T h omp s on s aid, 11 1 c an ' t think of MR. NAT WELCH Executive Director a nything e l se. 11 Our visit was w e ll r e port e d in th e Journa l , Consitution, WSB - T V, WAGA - TV, and five rad i:::i s t ation s . �