Pete Sessions: “I think the issue before the Senate as we debate the budget resolution is how to set our priorities as a nation. Where…”

“I think the issue before the Senate as we debate the budget resolution is how to set our priorities as a nation. Where do we want to spend our resources? Are we expending our resources in ways that strengthen our American Republic and the people who make it up? Are we using resources in a way that will strengthen families? And are we using resources in a way that undermine families or at least undermine the freedom of families to make choices they believe are important in their lives? I have just introduced an amendment which expresses the sense of Congress that the Federal Government should acknowledge the importance of stay-at-home parents and should not discriminate against families who decide to forego a second income in order for a mother or father to be at home with their children. The resolution is nearly identical to the House resolution sponsored by Representative Bill Goodling, chairman of the Education and Work Force Committee, which passed the House of Representatives on February 11 by a vote of 409-0. President Clinton has proposed spending $21.7 billion over the next 5 years in new Federal child care programs. Although the money the President is proposing to spend will benefit parents who use business and institutional day-care providers, it will not assist the single largest provider of child care in this country, at-home parents.”