Dan Coats: “with the passage of this welfare reform legislation, I think we can confidently state that the New Deal is old news. As…”

“with the passage of this welfare reform legislation, I think we can confidently state that the New Deal is old news. As we all know, this legislation will end the Federal Government's entitlement to welfare, an entitlement created 6 decades ago during the New Deal. Yet, the reason that it must be overturned is found in the reasoning of Franklin Roosevelt himself who said, ``When any man or woman goes on the dole, something happens to them mentally, and the quicker they're taken off the dole the better it is for them the rest of their lives.'' He added: ``We must preserve not only the bodies of the unemployed from destitution, but also their self-respect, their self-reliance, and courage and determination.'' The welfare reforms that we will pass today are designed not just to save money and reduce waste, although those are important goals, but they are also designed to help restore certain basic values: self-respect and self-reliance. Some critics have claimed that these welfare reforms will lead to catastrophe. Mr. President, I suggest the catastrophe has already arrived. It is obvious in an exploding population of fatherless children, rising violence in our cities and streets, suburbs and rural towns, endless dependence and fractured families. No one can honestly defend the current system as compassionate. No one can be proud of the results of the last 30 years. We are tired of good intentions and dismal results. We need to take another path.…”