William Helms: “future historians are likely to regard this as a momentous occasion in Congress--a welfare bill is finally about to be…”

“future historians are likely to regard this as a momentous occasion in Congress--a welfare bill is finally about to be approved by Congress and signed by the President--a bill which will effectively drive a nail in the coffin of the Great Society. This welfare reform bill proposes to set welfare policy on the right course. It requires welfare recipients to work; It promotes family and the work ethic; and It exercises sound fiscal responsibility. In addition, this legislation will insist that illegal aliens must not receive welfare and that non-citizens cannot hereafter lawfully receive most Federal welfare benefits during their first 5 years in the United States. These legislative goals are tough, but fair. Requiring welfare recipients to work provides the hammer that can break the cycle of poverty and dependency. As matters now stand, the average welfare recipient stays at the public trough for 13 years. This bill reverses that folly; it proclaims for all to hear that welfare must not be a way of life. Equally important, Mr. President, this legislation is fair to taxpayers because it saves $55 billion of taxpayers' money. The average American worker in 1993 paid $3,357 in taxes just to support welfare recipients. Taxpayers are sick and tired of working hard, paying taxes and watching folks on welfare get a free ride. Mr. President, the taxpayers can be thankful that this bill contains tough work requirements for food stamp recipients.”