Kay Bailey Hutchison: “Mr. President, this is landmark legislation, and it is a pivotal point in our Nation's history and future. What it does…”

“Mr. President, this is landmark legislation, and it is a pivotal point in our Nation's history and future. What it does, this bill before the Senate, it does, indeed, change welfare as we know it. This is what the hard-working American people have been asking Congress to do for years. It limits welfare to 2 years for able-bodied individuals, and there will be a 5-year lifetime on welfare for any individual in our country. Mr. President, this sends a message to the working people of our country that, yes, we understand how hard it is to make ends meet. All Americans work hard. Welfare recipients should not be an exception. If we have uniform requirements for work, we will then say that this Nation is a Nation that has a work ethic and values people who are trying to be productive citizens. This bill requires all able-bodied welfare recipients to work within 2 years, or lose their benefits. States will be required to have 50 percent of their welfare recipients working by 2002. And to ensure that child care is available for a single parent, this bill provides an additional $4.5 billion more than current law for child care. So we are making sure that there is a safety net, while at the same time we are going to save the taxpayers of our country $58 billion.”