John Ensign: “We have to ask ourselves a few questions here. First of all, does the current welfare system help children as the last…”

“We have to ask ourselves a few questions here. First of all, does the current welfare system help children as the last speaker talked about? She talked about a safety net. Is the current welfare system a safety net or has it become a spider web that just absolutely grabs onto people and creates a dependency cycle that destroys families? Is the current welfare system compassionate? The answers to all of these questions are an obvious no, the current welfare system is not compassionate and it does destroy families. What effect has our welfare system had on out-of-wedlock births? What effect has it had on crime rates? What effect has it had on the work ethic in America? Our bill gets people off welfare and into work. That is true compassion. Our bill does stop noncitizens from receiving welfare benefits. I am sorry. I believe that welfare benefits should only be reserved for citizens of the United States.”