John W. Olver: “I, too, rise tonight to speak about that critical aspect of the welfare reform that is overlooked by the Contract With…”

“I, too, rise tonight to speak about that critical aspect of the welfare reform that is overlooked by the Contract With America. I'm talking about child support. The contract spells out the exact punishments for women on AFDC. Women under 18 will be ineligible for assistance if they have a child out of wedlock. Women will not receive additional benefits if they have another child while on welfare. Women will be forced off welfare after 2 years, whether or not they have found employment or completed a training program. Is this a personal responsibility act, or a female punishment act? Not once is the responsibility of the father mentioned in the contract. In fact, the only mention of fathers denies public assistance to the child if paternity is not established. That is an astonishing oversight. Today, as the gentlewoman from Connecticut has already pointed out, 63 percent of absent parents contribute no child support. Out of the $48 billion which should be paid annually only $14 billion is actually collected. Millions of families could escape welfare if only they received the owed child support. The child support enforcement system in my State of Massachusetts is a model for successful collection.”