Political Quotes

“I want to thank the gentlewoman for raising the concern about ensuring that TANF recipients have adequate access to their benefits in a variety of locations. That's a very important consideration. This bill requires States to block access to welfare benefits in casinos, liquor stores, and strip clubs. However, we know some grocery stores, convenience stores, and local markets may sell groceries but also sell alcohol and that some States may have gambling machines there as well. Because of this, the bill allows States to make accommodations for such stores so that they would not have to block transactions in places that sell groceries but that also sell alcohol. If a grocery store happens to have a gaming machine or if it's located in the same building or complex as a casino, there are provisions made in this. So I thank the gentlewoman for raising this issue, but I'm glad that we can ensure the integrity of this program. I would submit the most important thing we can do is to ensure the integrity of the program so that it is there for the children and families that need it. Yet we want to ensure that there is not an overt abuse of these funds in strip clubs, casinos, and liquor stores while allowing for reasonable exceptions. Also, I thank the gentlelady and the ranking member from Texas for raising the concern as to the issue of implementation cost, and I want to address that as well.…”