Burgess Owens: “today we passed the Republican majority's welfare reform bill, H.R. 3734. I think this triumph of the Republican…”

“today we passed the Republican majority's welfare reform bill, H.R. 3734. I think this triumph of the Republican majority again proves what we have said all along, that Democrats put families and children first, Republicans put families and children last. The Republicans are at least open and consistent, I appreciate their honesty. They are open and consistent in their extremism. As Speaker Gingrich has said, politics is war without blood. The Republicans have declared war on families and children and they do not hide it. They have declared war on working people. They do not hide it. They are consistent. The American people will have a clear choice in November. There is no camouflaging of their intentions. The Republicans have done more than they said they would do but they clearly have laid out a pattern which shows that they are not for families, they are not for children. They use the rhetoric, they use the slogans, but the proof is in their actions. Today's welfare reform legislation certainly proves that. I am all for welfare reform. I am in favor of reforming any program and any function of government, in fact. That is part of our vital function here, to keep the process of reform going. There is not a single government program or a single function of government that cannot stand improvement. The process of reform should be a permanent, ongoing process, and welfare certainly needed reforming.”