Political Quotes

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the diligent work on the Budget Committee and the leadership you have shown there. Mr. Chairman, Americans know that this country was built on a strong work ethic. This budget provides a framework to create work requirements for able-bodied, working-age adults receiving Federal benefits. Some may ask, Why work requirements? In 1996, President Clinton, a fellow Arkansan from my hometown of Hot Springs but from across the aisle, said: Today we are taking an historic chance to make welfare what it is meant to be: a second chance, not a way of life. The goal of workforce requirements on able-bodied, working-age adults is simply to give Americans a hand up, not a hand out. Mr. Chairman, we should be concerned about the negative effects these Federal benefit programs are having on our American work ethic when we review the data. The maximum an individual can earn and still receive government assistance under some programs, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is only $1,000. The Cato Institute reports that in 39 States, individuals can make more on government assistance than by working an 8-hour, $8-per-hour job. In six States, government benefits pay more than a $12-per-hour job; and in eight States, government assistance pays for more than the average salary of an American teacher.…”