Lateefah Simon: “I do regret that we do not have more of a bipartisan effort, not only on this but on a lot of things. This has happened…”

“I do regret that we do not have more of a bipartisan effort, not only on this but on a lot of things. This has happened gradually over a period of years on the Hill, and I think it has not been a healthy thing. So when the Senator from Minnesota makes his comments about the need for working together, I agree. Real candidly, the principal bill that we have, without the amendment, does not deal with the problem of poverty, does not deal with the problem of jobs. Whether you have a Democratic Senate or a Republican Senate, whether you have a Democratic President or a Republican President, one thing is not going to change, one trend line: the demand for unskilled labor is going down. Most of those on welfare are people who do not have skills. And so to have real welfare reform, we really have to be talking about jobs, ultimately. But, in the meantime, we cannot let people fall through the cracks.”