John B. Breaux: “while the discussion has been interesting, I want to bring to the attention of my colleagues an article on Sunday with…”

“while the discussion has been interesting, I want to bring to the attention of my colleagues an article on Sunday with reference to the President's statement on welfare reform, which I think is very significant. While the Congress tries to come together on a welfare reform plan, it is very clear that the administration is trying to move forward on its own to get things done which are real reform. He said--and I totally agree--``We have to make it clear that a baby doesn't give you a right, and won't give you the money, to leave home and drop out of school.'' The President said that in his weekly radio address. The Executive order that followed up on that statement, I think, is real welfare reform. What it does is simply require, through Executive order, without waiting on the Congress, that States require that teen mothers, who are having children, stay at home or live at home in adult supervision, or go to school, and that if they do neither, their welfare benefits would no longer be allowed to continue. With this executive action, all 50 States will now be required to keep teen mothers, who are on welfare and who have children, in school; and that for the first time, the administration will now be able to-- and intends to--audit all of those States to make sure that, in fact, they are doing that.”