Political Quotes

“If I can reclaim my time, I say the answer is yes. I think we do that in this bill. In the Dole modified bill, we believe there are ample dollars available. Within the AFDC block grant, there will be money available for child care. You have the additional child care block grant, which is appropriated at $1 billion for this year and as necessary for future years. We will have this debate every year, Senator. We are going to have a debate on the floor of the Senate over how much money we will provide in the appropriations process for people on welfare who need day care assistance. I may be back here with you, joining with you in having started this program in place and having seen the needs and heard from the Governors that we may need to appropriate more money in the years ahead. There is nothing that prohibits us from doing that. But to lock in--you do not call it an entitlement, but it might as well be one--to lock in a program of $6 billion right now, not just again for young kids, for children under the age of 5, but for children up to the age of 12, for parents who are single and married, I think that just goes too far. I hope that my colleagues will look at the expansiveness of this amendment, the cost of this amendment, and I think the unfairness of this amendment when juxtaposed to the working family in America. We are telling the working family in America that, if you want to raise children, fine. But you are on your own.”