Jennifer Dunn: “let us talk about compassion, because some of our Members seem to have a distorted sense of what that term means when it…”

“let us talk about compassion, because some of our Members seem to have a distorted sense of what that term means when it comes to our Nation's failed welfare policies. Is it compassionate to continue with a status quo system that for three generations has stripped women of their dignity? Republicans say no. The current system limits the ability of poor women to seek gainful work and condemns those women and their children to a life of hopelessness caught up in the welfare cycle. That is not compassion, Mr. Speaker. It is destructive to women, to children, and to families. In fact, because of the disincentives that exist in the current system, many welfare mothers will never be married. Mr. Speaker, let us not defend the status quo. Instead, let us end a system that traps children in lives of higher rates of domestic abuse and violent crime and inadequate educational opportunities. Let us transform welfare and redefine compassion to mean stronger families, domestic tranquility, and good jobs.”