Dianne Feinstein: “I did not support the welfare reform bill. The reason I didn't support the welfare reform bill was exactly this. The way…”

“I did not support the welfare reform bill. The reason I didn't support the welfare reform bill was exactly this. The way the bill is weighted, the targets that need to be met in the State of California increase with time. We estimated that we had to develop in California 600,000 additional child care slots a year just to keep up with the need. What the Senator has just revealed to me indicates that within this first year we already see a waiting list of 200,000. I expect in the next 2 years this waiting list to increase threefold, up to 600,000 families waiting for adequate child care. If we want Americans to leave welfare behind as a way of life, if we want to see Americans entrepreneurial and working, then we must see there is adequate child care available for the children of these families. A great bulk of the people involved here are single parents with children. They need to earn a living. They have no choice. They must find child care. This amendment creates in the reserve fund some moneys to be able to help the State create the slots. Let me say how difficult this is in California, an earthquake-prone State, tough building codes, tough individual county and city codes. Therefore, these facilities are expensive to build.”