Political Quotes

“I am proud to join the Democratic leader and Senator Breaux in offering this substitute amendment, the Work First Act of 1996. As one of the coauthors of this amendment, working with Senator Daschle and Senator Breaux, I want to say it does reform welfare. It embodies the principles of turning the welfare system into an employment system, of being firm on work, and of providing a safety net for children. It recognizes that child care is the linchpin between welfare and work. And it puts men back into the picture. We do it very straightforwardly. We do it by replacing AFDC with temporary employment assistance, which is time-limited and conditional. We require all parents on welfare to sign a parent empowerment contract, which is their plan for moving from welfare to work, and which also emphasizes their role and responsibility in child rearing. We advocate not only moving people to work, but we do it by providing the tools to move people to work, through child care assistance, transitional Medicaid coverage, and other work-related services. We also require a safety net for children with child care funding, a guarantee of health care, and noncash aid where it is needed to meet the specific needs of each child. In the event the parents do not meet their responsibilities, we are not going to punish the child for the failings of the mother.”