Thomas Daschle: “I will use my leadership time for whatever time I may consume to speak in behalf of the Dodd amendment. Mr. President…”

“I will use my leadership time for whatever time I may consume to speak in behalf of the Dodd amendment. Mr. President, let me begin by thanking the distinguished Senator from Massachusetts for his excellent comments and for the leadership that he has shown on this issue throughout this debate, and certainly the Senator from Connecticut, the senior Senator, Senator Dodd, for his work in bringing us to this point this afternoon. His leadership and the effort that he has invested in this issue for many years is illustrative of the contribution that he has made on a number of issues relating to children. And this is perhaps the most important contribution of all. As the distinguished Senator from Massachusetts has indicated, you simply cannot have welfare reform if you do not address the issue of child care adequately. There can be no doubt that it is the linchpin between welfare and work. Why? Because 60 percent of AFDC families have children under 6. Why? Because, in many cases, those same families cannot find adequate day care, cannot afford day care even if they can find it, and have great anxiety about leaving their children unattended. I do not care whether it is one parent or two parents. If we want them to go out and work, if we want them to go out and get the skills necessary so they can work--time after time they have told us, and time after time virtually every social organization has indicated--you have to find a way to take care of their children.”