Burgess Owens: “Welfare reform is very much in order. The business of policymakers is reform. As legislators, the constant improvement…”

“Welfare reform is very much in order. The business of policymakers is reform. As legislators, the constant improvement of Government functions and programs is our job. Reform is a permanent, ongoing process. There is not a single Government program in existence that cannot use some reform. But reform should not be driven by manufactured hysteria and scapegoating. Welfare reform should not become the oppression and persecution of the poor. At the heart of the welfare program is the aid to families with dependent children. Children are the primary recipients. The survival and development of children is what aid to families with dependent children is all about. Children are our Nation's greatest resource, and the AFDC program is about the salvation of those children. Welfare reform can be accomplished without the kind of extremism and the persecution of the poor which is involved in the Republican reform bill. Put the problem in perspective. We are talking about 1 percent, approximately 1 percent, of the total Federal budget.”