Political Quotes

“Thank you, Mr. President, I am pleased to join with my colleagues, Senators Hatch, Roberts, Specter, and Chafee to introduce a bill that I believe is an historic opportunity to help ensure the well-being of our children and by extension the very well-being of our nation: the Caring for Children Act. I come before you as a veteran on child care issues who has worked to address child care throughout my political life, and was the lead Republican cosponsor on the Act for Better Child Care in 1989--the bill which set the stage for the bipartisan package that was adopted by the 101st Congress. Since that time we have advanced the ball in profound ways that reflect the changing nature of the American family, but our work must never cease when it comes to our children. We must build on our laurels, not rest on them: and that is precisely what this bill does. Consider the challenge: In California alone in 1997, 500,000 children were already on waiting lists for federal child care in--half a million! Now, it is estimated that, as welfare reform proceeds, some 2 million parents across America will join the workforce and their children will require child care.”