Political Quotes

“I was ready to vote for a welfare reform bill today. I believe we need welfare reform. I have fought for a tough welfare reform bill, and I have voted for welfare reform. It is deeply disappointing to me that I must vote against final passage of this bill. I voted for the bill which the Senate passed last year. I hoped at that time that the conference on that bill would make even further improvements in the bill, and that we would be able to send a good bill to the President for his signature. I was disappointed when the conferees last year took an acceptable bill and turned it into an unacceptable and punitive one. Welfare reform was within our grasp last year. But we let it slip away by placing political considerations ahead of sound policy decisions. I hope we will not make the same mistake this year. I have not only voted for welfare reform, but I am one of the coauthors of the work first bill, which would have ended welfare as we know it. Along with my coauthors, the Democratic leader, Senator Daschle and Senator Breaux, I am proud that we crafted a plan that is tough on work but not tough on children. Our plan called for a time-limited and conditional entitlement. It would have required all able-bodied adults to go to work. Our plan provided people with the tools to move from welfare to work; tools like job training, job search assistance, and most importantly, child care. We recognized that the No. 1 barrier to work is the lack of affordable child care.”