[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 25, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: January 25, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                    ATTACK CRIME AND REFORM WELFARE

  (Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks:)
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, we prepare to begin the second session of 
the 103d Congress, we, in this House, should commit ourselves to 
passing legislation to attack the plague of crime afflicting this 
Nation and fundamentally reform our welfare system.
  Failure to address these key issues will undermine any efforts we 
undertake to strengthen our economy or address our social problems. A 
system that allows criminals to ply their trade in our cities, or lets 
individuals live better on welfare than work, destroys any message we 
can send on values or opportunity.
  For many years, well-intentioned men and women in this House have 
opposed welfare reform and tougher crime laws because they believed we 
must address the so-called root causes of poverty first.
  Well, today, I think it is clear that the failures of the criminal 
justice and welfare systems are some of the greatest root causes of 
poverty in America today.
  The material welfare of the average poor American is better than an 
average American knew 30 years ago. Yet their quality of life, and more 
generally all our lives, are worse, because of crime and the 
disintegration of the family.
  The time has come to address these issues.

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