Political Quotes

“this welfare re-authorization legisation does nothing to prepare welfare recipients to leave welfare and enter the workforce and it is an profound fiscal burden on our state governments. I believe that since we reformed welfare six years ago, we have been successful in transitioning millions of people off of assistance. But, this remaining group of beneficiaries will be much harder to prepare to enter the workforce. That is why I do not support this ``one size fits all'' program whose only goal is to drop beneficiaries. Welfare reform should give beneficiaries the tools they need to enter the workforce. Missing in this Republican legislation is a program that allows welfare recipients to receive a GED and if necessary, learn or improve their English. It also lacks a real increase in child care assistance and the necessary flexibility for innovative state programs to reach out to those on welfare who are least prepared to get a job. Mr. Speaker, it is inevitable this Republican welfare bill will only lead to more families falling between the cracks. Further, this legislation lacks alternatives to abstinence-only education. We should not put money into these programs before we have real debate on their actual effectiveness. This money could be more wisely spent on education and child care benefits.…”