Blake Moore: “Just because we keep saying that the 1996 welfare program was successful, doesn't make it so. Poverty has increased…”

“Just because we keep saying that the 1996 welfare program was successful, doesn't make it so. Poverty has increased among women and children. A quarter of all children in this country are poor. With that, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlelady from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro). Ms. DeLAURO. I rise in strong opposition to this amendment, the effect of which would be to increase hunger and hardship across America. We have experienced the most devastating recession since the Great Depression. Unemployment is at 7.5 percent. One in seven people today is availing himself of food stamps because there is a need to. People are struggling in our economy today. They want to work. They cannot find a job. Everyone is experiencing that in their own communities. This amendment would allow an unlimited number of States to require an adult to receive or even apply for food stamps to be working or in job training, or else they lose their food stamp benefits. Why would a State want to do this? Because the amendment also allows States to keep part of the savings from cutting people off the program, use the money for whatever purpose the State officials want, instead of feeding people with those dollars. States can cut taxes for companies or even maybe support special interest subsidies.…”