Ed Royce: “prior to 1996 Deborah from California was a single mother caring for her two daughters, a disabled son and a niece. She…”

“prior to 1996 Deborah from California was a single mother caring for her two daughters, a disabled son and a niece. She had no high school diploma. She had no prior work experience. But in 1996 we passed a Republican welfare reform bill which enabled people like Deborah to get off of welfare and into work. The new support services and the new training programs enabled her to become a certified nurse at a hospital close to her home, and that enabled her to take care of her children. Americans on welfare can now live better lives because of the passage of that bill. There have been 3 million children that have been listed out of poverty since 1996. Welfare caseloads have declined by 9 million and employment of single mothers on welfare rose by 40 percent. We have taken the first step in getting people off of welfare. This year we need to take the second step by decreasing welfare caseloads by promoting work and healthy marriages, by improving child well-being and quality of life and by strengthening families.”