Political Quotes

“I want to share a few thoughts with the Chamber with regard to our welfare reform efforts. The President has indicated, from the first start of his campaign, that he was interested in welfare reform. Indeed, in his campaign he mentioned it often and, I thought, made strong points. The President is not a newcomer to the subject of welfare reform. He was active as a Governor, as all Members know. He was involved with it when the 1988 welfare reform bill passed. I had an opportunity to work on that measure as the ranking member on the subcommittee that dealt with the subject in the House Ways and Means Committee. I was active in the conference committee that ultimately designed the final version of the bill. I have also been a sponsor of a number of measures that change welfare, both in the House and in the Senate. It is something that I offered amendments and bills on in 1990, 1991, 1992, and 1993. Again in 1994, I will be joining others to reform our welfare system. Our welfare system is a human tragedy that must be changed. The good men and women who wrote the laws regarding it, on behalf of the less fortunate among us, had goals that have not been met. If anyone had forecast what would have happened to the rate of illegitimate births in this country, nobody would have believed it or imagined it possible. It is not fair to attribute it only to the Federal programs. Clearly, many other factors are involved.”