Patsy T. Mink: “The statistics are there. The census data has been evaluated. All the records of the department have been researched…”

“The statistics are there. The census data has been evaluated. All the records of the department have been researched, and we find the outstanding conclusion that the majority of parents who come into welfare are there less than a year. Eleven months is the average. This means they are there for temporary assistance, the vast majority of them. And if the Government had been more ready to assist them, provide them with some assistance in locating a better job that paid higher wages or helped them with medical care, which in many cases is the reason for families coming on welfare, the place that worked that provided perhaps just a bare minimum wage salary did not include health care provisions, so the moment when a child became sick, they had to quit work and come back on the welfare system. But the moment that the illness passed and the family was together again, that parent would be out there looking for work. The idea that is out there which is so pervasive that people on welfare are unwilling to work simply is not true. So I therefore support the idea of a work oriented system, because I believe that that truthfully meets the needs of people on welfare. They need assistance, they need education, they need training, they need job counseling. Somebody has to go out there to help them obtain a job which can support their families beyond what they were getting on welfare in terms of cash assistance.”