Political Quotes

“as I have said many times, you cannot fix something, you cannot change something unless you first admit it is broken and first admit that you need to change it. Finally, both sides of the aisle came forward and indicated that we do have a broken system, that we have as a matter of fact put millions of Americans into a bind and took away their opportunity to ever have a chance at the American dream. Now, the tough part then came as to how do you fix it. Of course we had differing opinions. Our committee started out with the idea that welfare must be a safety net, not a way of life; there must be a very clear emphasis on work and on getting those on welfare into work. There must be a strong measure to stop abuses of the system. We need to return power and flexibility to the States. Welfare should not encourage, it should discourage destructive personal behavior that contributes so clearly not only to welfare dependence but to a host of social problems. Mr. Speaker, this is a good, balanced welfare reform bill. We have been very generous in providing money for child care. We have protected the nutrition program. We have established strong work requirements. And we have at long last addressed the tremendous problem of out-of-wedlock births and absentee fathers. Mr. Speaker, I commend all those who have worked so hard to bring about this welfare reform effort.”