Political Quotes

“Thank you. Professor Moran stated what most believe is simply common sense. He said if we can change the behavior of adult men who father illegitimate children, we could make a substantial dent in the rate of teenage illegitimacy. Instead of trying to limit teen pregnancy by reducing welfare benefits for the girls, public policy, according to Moran, should focus on holding adult males financially responsible for their children. I think that is pretty sound reasoning. It is common sense and our bill does that. Professor Moran went on to explain that 25 years ago, two-thirds of expectant teenage mothers married. Today, less than a third marry. Of course, no one is saying that early marriage is a solution to out-of-wedlock births. A new national study indicates fully one-half of the fathers of the babies born to mothers are adults. This is not a situation of teenagers having sex. The facts are that these young girls are being impregnated by adult males, and they should be held responsible for their actions. They should pay. These statistics show that the problem of illegitimacy is not going to be solved in an easy fashion. We must focus on the family and do it in a way that is intelligent. The Democratic Work First program is called Work First--that is the amendment pending before the body at this time--because that is what it is about.…”