Political Quotes

“do we want welfare reform? That is the bottom line here today. The Castle-Tanner bill is a bipartisan bill. It shares and improves upon the leadership's ideas on how to restructure our welfare system that has become a burned-out, broken-down bureaucracy. Like the leadership's bill, Castle-Tanner creates a single cash welfare block grant to replace the current AFDC, JOBS and Emergency Assistance programs. It requires recipients to work within 2 years and limits benefits to 5 years. Castle-Tanner requires able-bodied individuals with no dependents between the ages of 18 to 50 to participate in a work program in order to receive food stamps. It requires minor mothers to stay in school and live with an adult to receive assistance. In addition, Castle-Tanner creates a $2 billion contingency fund for States to meet their need in time of recession. In this era of giving the States more responsibility, Castle-Tanner honors the Governor's request for greater flexibility. The leadership's bill, however, rejects the Governor's request.”