Earl Blumenauer: “I am from a State that made great progress 5 years before we enacted welfare reform, and it is doubly sad for me to see…”

“I am from a State that made great progress 5 years before we enacted welfare reform, and it is doubly sad for me to see us poised to turn our back on the principles that helped make my State successful. The House has proposed new mandates which are unfunded. We are going to impose a new approach for work requirements that most successful States have rejected. But most embarrassing for the Republican leadership and the Bush administration is that this Chamber is not even going to be allowed to discuss a real amendment to provide the need for child care that is so essential to successful welfare reform. Unfortunately, the House is again going to engage in an empty legislative process. The American public deserves better treatment for the critical major issues of our time.”