Mike Levin: “the status quo is gone. The current system does not meet the American values of work, opportunity, responsibility, and…”

“the status quo is gone. The current system does not meet the American values of work, opportunity, responsibility, and family. We have been wrestling for a long time with what should replace it. The key always has been the linkage of welfare to work, within a definite time structure, and with sensitivity to the children of the parent who needs to break out of a cycle of dependency, for her/his good, for the child's and for the taxpayer. The challenge has been to find a new balance, that combines State flexibility with national interest. The first two bills vetoed by the President failed to address effectively work and dealt insensitively with children. If the AFDC entitlement was going to be replaced by a block grant-- which was already beginning to happen through Federal waivers--after the vetoes we successfully pressured the Republican majority to make substantial improvements in day care, health care, benefits for severely disabled children and to retain the basic structure of foster care, food stamps and the school lunch program. In a word, this is a different bill than those vetoed by the President. The bill before us is at its very weakest in two areas essentially unrelated to AFDC--food stamps and legal immigrants. Reform was needed in these areas, but surely not punishment nor a mere search for dollars, as was true of the majority's approach. The question is whether the defects in those areas should sink changes in our broken welfare system.…”