Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick: “today, I voted against passage of H.R. 4, the Welfare Reform Reauthorization. I opposed passage of the bill last session…”

“today, I voted against passage of H.R. 4, the Welfare Reform Reauthorization. I opposed passage of the bill last session and today for the same reasons. First, the Republican bill has weak educational opportunities for welfare recipients, it places unfunded mandates on States, and implements stricter requirements without taking into account increases for inflation. This puts States in a very compromising position. Furthermore, this bill only includes $1 billion in additional funding over five years for childcare. It is general knowledge that there is insufficient money provided for childcare to meet the current needs of our nation. Moreover, the Republican bill places harsher work requirements on mothers with young children, without providing for a sufficient increase in childcare funding. How are families to cope? Additionally, the Republican bill is only concerned about the numbers looking good on paper. The majority points to the success of the reduction of welfare rolls with the Welfare Reform Law of 1996; however, they fail to take into account the number of welfare recipients that have moved off the welfare rolls straight into low- income, minimum wage jobs. Many families still must rely on government assistance to stay afloat. Their measure of success is terribly flawed. Providing government assistance to needy families should not be based on unlimited assistance--this is something that those of us on both sides of the aisle can agree on.”