Bob Kerrey: “this amendment unfortunately will probably be defeated along party lines. I say unfortunately because there is a…”

“this amendment unfortunately will probably be defeated along party lines. I say unfortunately because there is a significant amount of enthusiasm in this body to respond to the people's concern about our welfare system and to try to change it. The Democratic Party, as people have observed and understand, have very often had difficulty coming together around change. That is not the case with welfare reform. We have spent a great deal of time on this side of the aisle--not defending the status quo--coming up with a proposal that radically alters the status quo with an attempt to pass legislation that will respond to taxpayers who say they do not like the current tax. They think we are spending money with no results, and perhaps worse, spending money and making the problem more serious than it currently is to the recipients who do not like the system, since many do not go onto welfare by choice but are there as a consequence of divorce or separation and find it difficult to get off once they are on. Mr. President, even providers today increasingly are saying they do not like the current system. The Work First proposal is a serious attempt to respond to these concerns, an attempt not to reduce the budget deficit, but to reduce the rates of poverty and increase the self-sufficiency of Americans who are struggling to get out of the ranks of poverty. That is the effort that we have before us.…”