David Weldon: “I rise this evening to talk a little bit about some of the preceding debate that occurred today on the housing bill. Let…”

“I rise this evening to talk a little bit about some of the preceding debate that occurred today on the housing bill. Let me just say, though the debate was frequently very heated and sometimes tempers and passions were quite high, I believe personally that a lot of this is very good. We need to openly debate these issues. I rise this evening, Mr. Speaker, because I feel there were a number of points being made by the minority which were entirely inaccurate as they pertain to my opinion on this issue of a work requirement in the housing bill, and as they pertain, I believe, to our party, the Republican Party's position on a work requirement in the housing bill. I have experience living in government housing, living in a dormitory in a State university. It was no bigger than the average walk-in closet. I had to work 24 hours a month for the privilege of having that small dorm room. I believe it is perfectly reasonable to ask somebody who is living in a government-funded apartment to put in 8 hours a month of work time. Mr. Speaker, in our provision we exempt the elderly, we exempt the disabled, we exempt those people who are going to school, even if it is part-time, even a vocational school, and we exempt people that have full-time jobs and part-time jobs.”