[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 7 (Wednesday, February 2, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 2, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                  THE WELFARE ELIMINATION ACT OF 1994

                                 ______


                          HON. ERIC FINGERHUT

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 2, 1994

  Mr. FINGERHUT. Mr. Speaker, it is unusual to have an area of public 
policy that everyone agrees is a disaster, but welfare is such a case. 
Taxpayers hate welfare because they are supporting a system that 
promotes dependency, punishes work, and wastes billions of dollars. 
Welfare recipients hate the system because it is a trap from which they 
cannot escape. Any program that forces parents to choose between 
working and getting medical care for their children is a failure. Only 
the bureaucrats who administer the system, it seems, have anything to 
gain by opposing radical reforms.
  I have a personal interest in this issue as well. Before entering 
politics, I served as the associate director of an outstanding program 
called Cleveland Works. Over the years, Cleveland Works has helped 
thousands of people leave welfare for good paying, full-time jobs with 
health benefits. At Cleveland Works, I saw the best and the worst of 
the system: people who were simply asking for a chance to support 
themselves and their families, and crazy rules that rewarded people for 
not working. I promised myself that if I was ever in a position to do 
something about it, I would work for a real change.
  In his campaign for President, Bill Clinton pledged to ``end welfare 
as we know it.'' Now is the time deliver on that pledge. I worry, 
however, that in typical Washington style, the legislation will end up 
doing nothing more than tinkering around the edges. Such a result would 
miss a historic opportunity, and further add to the cynicism with which 
people view government. It is clear to me that to truly deliver on the 
President's promise we must bring the current system to an end and 
start again. Writing on a blank slate, what would we create?
  My answer is contained in the Welfare Elimination Act of 1994, which 
I introduced last week. The WEA is based on the principles articulated 
almost 60 years ago by President Roosevelt. Faced with the Depression, 
FDR concluded that, while some emergency cash assistance was necessary, 
long term assistance is ``a narcotic and subtle destroyer of the 
spirit.'' Far better, he asserted, is a system that puts people to 
work.
  WEA contains three simple steps. First, it makes available up to 6 
months of temporary cash assistance to people experiencing a family 
emergency. For example, if a parent abandons a family, that family will 
need help getting back on its feet. This assistance should have minimal 
strings attached, thereby allowing the family time to help themselves.
  Second, if the temporary assistance is not sufficient, WEA makes 
available an intensive job training and placement effort, modeled on 
programs like Cleveland Works. The goal is clear--to help each person 
find a full-time job in the private sector. This program would also be 
available for 6 months. Any person who participates in the program 
full-time would continue to receive the assistance needed to support 
their family. Alternatively, if the person would rather go to a 4-year 
or 2-year college, a work/study option would be available.
  Finally, if the job placement assistance did not work, and the person 
still needs our help, that help would come in the form of a community 
service job. It is high time that we allow people the chance to give 
back something to the community in exchange for the assistance they 
receive.
  WEA pays for these programs by abolishing, not just reforming, all 
existing welfare programs--including AFDC and Food Stamps. The funds 
from these programs make up for the revenue needed to support work 
programs instead of welfare.
  As we start what promises to be a difficult road on the best way to 
achieve meaningful welfare reform, it is my hope that the principles 
contained in the Welfare Elimination Act of 1994 will play a 
significant role in this important debate.

                          ____________________