Gus Bilirakis: “I would like to join in supporting the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. As…”

“I would like to join in supporting the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. As representatives of the people, we do not get as many opportunities as we would like to do something that will truly help improve the lives of the people we serve. This bill presents us with just such an opportunity. The landmark welfare reform plan before us today will bring education, training, and jobs to low-income Americans. It will replace welfare dependence with economic self-reliance. And it will create more hopeful futures for the children of participants. This conference report is more than just a prescription for much-needed welfare reform. It is what I hope will be the first step in our bipartisan efforts to improve the public assistance programs on which disadvantaged families depend. Last February, the Nation's Republican and Democrat Governors unanimously endorsed welfare and Medicaid reform plans. And although the conference report before us today will give States the tools they need to improve their public assistance programs, our work is not done. After all, welfare as we know it means more than AFDC. It includes food stamps, housing assistance, and energy assistance. And it includes medical assistance. That's right--for millions of Americans, Medicaid is welfare. That is because income assistance alone is not sufficient to meet the pressing needs of disadvantaged families. For States, too, Medicaid is welfare.”