Lynn C. Woolsey: “It has been nearly three years since we passed the Nation's welfare reform law, and most news reports paint a very…”

“It has been nearly three years since we passed the Nation's welfare reform law, and most news reports paint a very glowing picture. The welfare rolls are at a 30-year low; more people than ever are working; billions of surplus welfare dollars stack up in government coffers, unspent and unused. The great social experiment, the 1996 welfare reform law, is a great success, right? Right? But, Mr. Speaker, what about the 14.5 million children still living in poverty, or the 71 percent of welfare recipients who end up in dead-end jobs that pay below the poverty line? What about the many States that get people off welfare by simply turning away people asking for help, or the States that meet their goals by shifting welfare recipients into low-paying jobs with no benefits and no career or salary ladders? We do not hear much about these families, Mr. Speaker, because we are still thinking about welfare reform in the wrong way. We had it wrong when we set out to end welfare as we know it. Our goal should have been then and should be now to end poverty as we know it. Mr. Speaker, I know it is not fashionable or popular to talk about making changes in the welfare law these days. But, Mr. Speaker, I would say that today is exactly the right time to be rethinking our Nation's welfare policies.”