Charles W. Stenholm: “I believe the legislation I am supporting is the best way for the House to realize that opportunity. There is a…”

“I believe the legislation I am supporting is the best way for the House to realize that opportunity. There is a bipartisan welfare reform alternative that can be supported by a strong majority of members on both sides of the aisle and can be signed into law. That's how historic opportunities are realized. My objections to the Majority bill come down to two simple concerns: I believe their proposal is weak on work and tough on kids. In my book, that's a bad equation that is fixed by the Castle-Tanner substitute. This substitute achieves $53 billion in savings in welfare programs as required by the Majority-approved budget, while protecting children and providing States with the resources that CBO says they need to put welfare recipients to work. Let me repeat. CBO says they need. How many times have we in this body heard unfunded Federal mandates.”