Mike Levin: “the Nation's current welfare system does not serve the Nation well. It has failed the children it is intended to protect…”

“the Nation's current welfare system does not serve the Nation well. It has failed the children it is intended to protect and it has failed the American taxpayer. I am hopeful that the debate in the Senate will ultimately result in a constructive bipartisan effort which will finally end the current system and achieve meaningful reform. Meaningful reform will assure that children are protected, that able-bodied people work and that child support enforcement laws are effective in getting absent parents to support their children. One challenge is to seek genuine reform of welfare without abandoning the goal of helping children. The Daschle work-first bill fundamentally changes the current welfare system by replacing unconditional, unlimited aid with conditional benefits for a limited time. Under the work-first bill, in order to receive assistance, all recipients must sign a contract. This contract will contain an individual plan designed to move the parent promptly into the work force. Those who refuse to sign a contract won't get assistance and tough sanctions apply to those not complying with the contract they sign. The underlying legislation requires people to work within no more than 2 years. Why wait that long? Why wait 2 years? Unless someone is in school or job training, why wait longer than 3 months to require that a person who is able bodied either have a private job or be performing community service.”