Thomas Daschle: “Let me say, Mr. President, that I am very pleased with the action taken by the President yesterday. The majority leader…”

“Let me say, Mr. President, that I am very pleased with the action taken by the President yesterday. The majority leader characterized the conference report as virtually similar to the Senate-passed bill. The majority leader did not note that the President said he could support the Senate-passed bill prior to the time it went to conference. He did not mention that there was a significant level of bipartisan support for that bill as it left the Senate, controversial in many ways as it was. We all recognize the need for reform. We all recognize that we have to build upon the reforms that we enacted over the last 10 years. We all recognize that we want to find ways to make work pay. But we also ought to recognize that we should not be punishing children as we attempt to do that. We also ought to recognize that in the name of flexibility we should not simply give carte blanche to States to renege on the responsibilities that every State must have to ensure that there is a welfare system that works. No mention was made in the majority leader's remarks of the fact that there was no requirement in the conference report on welfare for the States to actually use for welfare purposes the Federal dollars that they are being provided for welfare.”