Frank Lautenberg: “I say thank God that the Senator from North Dakota has brought this to the attention of the Senate and to the public. My…”

“I say thank God that the Senator from North Dakota has brought this to the attention of the Senate and to the public. My friend has done a real service in doing this. The notion that an individual working for a private living, perhaps their salary dependent upon their ability to curtail services, is hardly the way you want to treat a sick patient in the hospital. That is hardly the way you want to treat a family problem. That is hardly the way you want to protect a mother who has been battered. That is hardly the way we want to do things in a society with the conscience this country has. I am delighted, again, that the Senator introduced it. I am concerned that privatization like this is not going to do the job. Before we go ahead with approval of a waiver, we ought to at least hold a hearing and review the details. Mr. President, Congress has established these safety net programs for people in our society who are truly in need, impoverished. They are designed to ease suffering, to provide nutritional assistance to help children, help struggling people get into the work force to get themselves off welfare, to do whatever they can to sustain themselves. These programs can literally mean the difference between homelessness and independence, and we ought not to rush to hand them over to a private interest at this time, perhaps never, but we sure ought not to do it in the hasty manner that this is being undertaken.”