Don Nickles: “we have heard several of our colleagues, particularly on the other side of the aisle, talk about the need for welfare…”

“we have heard several of our colleagues, particularly on the other side of the aisle, talk about the need for welfare reform. And I would say that there is unanimous support in the Senate and in the country for welfare reform. But I also would say in my opinion the Democrat alternative leaves a lot to be desired. Let me just make a couple of general comments about welfare before I talk about the specific amendment that we have before us today. We have a lot of Federal programs, and we are spending a lot of money on welfare. It kind of shocks people. I told people in my State this past month that we have 336 Federal welfare programs; 336 different Federal welfare programs, and they have not been working. We are spending lots and lots of money, and it has not been working. In 1994, we were spending about $241 billion for welfare programs-- $241 billion--and that figure is increasing dramatically. Most of these programs are entitlements. Most of these programs grow. The Federal Government defines eligibility, and then we see how much they cost at the end of the year.”