Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, as one who believes in the value of work, I voted for the 1996 law to transform welfare to workfare. Now as the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee overseeing this law, I want to strengthen reform and assure that every able-bodied American who can work is working, you know, people like Mitt Romney's father, who long ago was on a form of welfare himself before he became wealthy. Those are the kind of people that should be working. Unfortunately, Republicans talk work for everyone else, but when it comes to doing the work here in Congress, well, they don't quite measure up to it. It's just like the expired Federal education law. They have been in power here for over 20 months, and we wouldn't need any changes or waivers in the law if they'd done their job to renew workfare. The real question here is not whether we emphasize work but how, how we achieve the most effective ways to get more people working. This administration has simply responded to Republican Governors and some Democrats who are seeking more flexibility and less bureaucratic paperwork, who sought better ways to get more people working.…”