Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, in May, my colleagues and I passed important legislation to reauthorize the 1996 welfare reform law, one of the most successful social policies ever enacted by Congress. It has transformed the lives of millions of families and helped them achieve self-sufficiency. The 1996 welfare law has done its job, and now it is Congress' job and unique opportunity to improve upon that 1996 act. The key reason why many former welfare recipients are leading independent lives today is clear: we require individuals to work for their benefits. Under the old system, welfare families could expect a lifetime of cash assistance without engaging in constructive activities of any kind. When Republicans gained control in 1994 of this Congress, we vowed to change our Nation's welfare system. It took awhile. The debate was spirited. But by 1996, after vetoing the bill twice, a reluctant President Clinton finally signed the landmark Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act into law. The success of those reforms has been extraordinary. Welfare caseloads have fallen over 50 percent, nearly 3 million children have escaped poverty, and the black child poverty rate is now at its lowest point ever.”