NAN A. S. HAYWORTH: “The important thing in terms of public policy is to step back and see what can bring the greatest good. What we have…”

“The important thing in terms of public policy is to step back and see what can bring the greatest good. What we have done over the last decade, or the last half of a decade, is to change this program, to incentivize and require work. If we enact the substitute offered by my friends on the other side, we will weaken work requirements. This would provide partial credit toward work rates for adults who work as few as 10 hours a week while collecting full welfare benefits. According to estimates from the Health and Human Services, it would effectively eliminate the work requirements in the year 2003, reducing from 50 percent to 2 percent the share of the welfare caseload expected to work. What I think is important here is that we not reduce work requirements, because, after all, it is incentive to work that brings about true reform, and in the final analysis the best social program is a job.”