Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I think we need to be very careful to put this bill into perspective. Yes, it will modify a system that no one defends. Yes, it will give States more flexibility to deal with their poorest citizens. Yes, it will provide more for child care than H.R. 4, easing one of the greatest barriers for those on welfare who want to work. All of these things are good reasons for supporting this bill. But I find some of the predictions of what this bill will do to be a bit of a stretch. It is being suggested by some that this bill will reduce the poverty rate, the illigitimacy rate, the teen pregnancy rate, the crime rate, and just about every other kind of rate you can imagine. We hear that this bill provides dynamic opportunities for education and training and is the opportunity that people who are poor in this country have been asking for. Well, I hope the strongest supporters of this bill are right. Sometimes I wonder when I listen to some of these speeches just how many poor people some of my colleagues have ever met. Maybe they could come to eastern Kentucky. Maybe then they could understand how difficult it is to determine whether a lack of personal responsibility or a lack of opportunity is the greater cause of poverty. For those of us in the middle of the political spectum, this is a tough vote. When I hear some of the predictions about what this bill will do, I am skeptical.”