John B. Breaux: “my colleagues, what we are trying to do with welfare reform is very simple. I think we can all agree we should be tough…”

“my colleagues, what we are trying to do with welfare reform is very simple. I think we can all agree we should be tough on work, we should be good for kids. Everybody knows we should put work first, but in doing that we should not put children last. I am afraid the Republican bill, without my amendment, does exactly that simply because of this. The Republican plan says that after you take the parent off of AFDC assistance, you forget about the children. You absolutely forbid the State in their own wisdom to determine whether they should give any assistance to the children who are innocent victims of welfare at the sins of the parents. We should not be punishing the children for what their parents have not done correctly. So let us be as tough as we can on work, make the parent go to work, but when the parent is taken off welfare, for God's sake, can't we as a nation at least allow the States to use their block grant money to provide the things that a child needs in order to survive in this country? That is the issue. Are we going to disregard the children? Or are we going to help the children while we are so tough on the parents? My amendment, I think, should pass.”