Bill Archer: “Mr. Speaker, the only way we can change people's behavior is by changing the system. Franklin Roosevelt warned that…”

“Mr. Speaker, the only way we can change people's behavior is by changing the system. Franklin Roosevelt warned that giving permanent aid to anyone destroys them. By creating a culture of poverty and a culture of violence, we have destroyed the very people we are claiming to help. Can any serious person argue that the federalization of poverty by Washington has worked? Government, since 1965, has spent over $5 trillion on welfare, more than we have spent on all the wars that we have fought in this century. And we have lost the war on poverty. With this bill, we can begin to win the war. We need to come to the realization that dollars alone will not solve the problem. We need to give unemployed people hope and equip them for work so they will be better able to help themselves. As our colleague, the gentleman from Oklahoma, J.C. Watts, says, they are eagles waiting to soar. Today we will ask those now receiving welfare to make a deal with the taxpayer. We will provide you with temporary help to get you through the hard times and we will help you feed your family and get the training you need, and in exchange, we ask that you commit yourself to find a job and move back into the economy. I am pleased to see that the President has finally agreed to join us in our fight to overhaul the broken-down welfare system.”