DingleJerry, the answer to your question simply has to do with the ideology of the Republican Party for over 50 years now.
Remember, Ronald Reagan famously said this about government:
"Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem."
"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help. "
In the 1960s, Barry Goldwater and the John Birch Society argued that Federal Government intervention to end Jim Crow Laws and Segregation was a threat to State Rights and a misuse of Government Power.
As a result, the reason for Republicans not wanting to include low-income people is because it goes against the ideology that the government shouldn't actually be helping anyone no matter the crisis or circumstances.
Instead, it should be the private sectors, local charities, church groups, and your local community that should be helping you.
There is a reason why Grover Norquist, one of the most powerful Conservatives in America, whose anti-tax policy and shrink the beast ideology said this: "I'm not in favor of abolishing the government. I just want to shrink it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub."
Therefore, the Federal Government shouldn't be leading the way in a situation such as this.
