On the recordSeptember 19, 2013
Madam Speaker, I don't question the sincerity of our Democrat colleagues' desire to feed the truly needy; I share in that commitment. But, Madam Speaker, I do resent the idea that somehow asking able-bodied adults without dependent children to at least be looking for work as a requirement to receive these benefits is somehow immoral. When did America trade the dignity of a job for a culture of permanent dependency? President Theodore Roosevelt writes in his autobiography about his life as a North Dakota rancher. In chapter four, ``In Cowboy Land,'' he writes: We knew toil and hardship, hunger and thirst, but we felt the beat of hardy life in our veins because ours was the glory of work and the joy of living. {time} 1630 Madam Speaker, I say let's encourage the dignity of work again and pass these modest reforms.





