[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 39 (Wednesday, April 13, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 13, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                  DEFICIENCIES IN CHILD CARE PROGRAMS

  (Mr. BEREUTER asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks and include extraneous 
matter.)
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, a Carnegie Foundation report has just been 
released which documents the tragic vulnerabilities and problems of the 
Nation's most vulnerable citizens--its infants and toddlers. That 
report, subject to intense discussion here in Washington, DC, the last 
several days, rightly focuses on very serious deficiencies in child 
care programs. Additionally, however, its condemnation of inadequate 
parenting by parents who are ill-prepared for parental responsibility 
must also be highlighted.
  We as a nation and this Congress must recognize that the huge number 
and rate of increase in illegitimate births, especially with so many 
children and teenagers having children, is the largest contributing 
factor for the tragedy among America's children. Mr. Speaker, it is 
time to boldly remind the bleeding heart liberals in this Congress, 
whose hearts are in the right place, but who apparently lack common 
sense or resolve, that their unwillingness to move forward on effective 
and yet humane changes in our welfare system contributes mightily to 
the problems of our Nation's infants and children. Currently our 
welfare system encourages illegitimate births with all the attendant 
problems. These problems are only magnified as these children, 
suffering from neglect and abuse, themselves become adults on our 
welfare rolls, populate our prisons, suffer the physical and mental 
problems from inadequate childhood nutrition, and, all too frequently, 
perpetuate another generational cycle of child neglect.
  Yet the leadership in this Congress and the party that controls this 
Congress can't manage to give welfare reform a sufficient priority to 
pass effective legislation this year. That's outrageous, and people in 
this country know that the excuses being offered for the lack of action 
on welfare reform ring hollow. Many Republicans and Democrats in this 
Congress want to act to reform our welfare system, and are willing to 
vote for the substantial up-front costs for job training and child care 
benefits if they are coupled with effective, no-nonsense, work-
incentive welfare reform.
  Mr. Speaker, for the sake of America's youngest children, it is well 
past time for this Congress to enact meaningful welfare reform--with or 
without any leadership from the White House--for we are still waiting 
for that long-promised Clinton welfare reform plan.
  Mr. Speaker, this Member invites the attention of his colleagues to 
the following editorial from the Omaha World-Herald of April 13, 1994:

              [From the Omaha World-Herald, Apr. 13, 1994]

              It's Sad to Trust Bureaucrats Over Families

       Another voice has joined the chorus of alarm about 
     America's next generation. The Carnegie Corporation, a 
     philanthropic organization, came out with a report on the 
     problems facing the nation's youth.
       Carnegie's list of concerns is similar to many others--
     illegitimate births, teen-age pregnancies, abuse, divorce and 
     poverty, which is often a consequence of other problems.
       More than 25 percent of babies are born to unmarried women, 
     the study noted. About every minute, an American adolescent 
     gives birth. One in three victims of physical abuse is a 
     baby. Almost 25 percent of infants and toddlers live in 
     poverty households. Children in single-parent households are 
     more likely to have behavioral and emotional problems than 
     those in two-parent households.
       Millions of youngsters are so deprived of loving 
     supervision, intellectual stimulation and proper health care 
     that their development as healthy and well-adjusted adults is 
     in question, the report said.
       Carnegie demonstrated a depressingly familiar point: 
     Defining the problem is relatively easy, while proposing a 
     solution that makes sense at all levels is difficult. 
     Carnegie's answer is programs--everything from government-
     provided ``quality child care'' to parent education and a 
     vastly expanded federal system of preschools. Unfortunately, 
     programs have been tried. The problem has grown worse in 
     recent years even as the availability of subsidized child 
     care and Head Start, among many other parent-substitute 
     programs, has increased dramatically.
       As the welfare state has become more generous, many people 
     have displayed less responsibility in the decisions they 
     make, the mates they select, the children they create, the 
     expectations they have of what the world owes them. They 
     become more dependent on outside solutions, reaching less 
     into themselves.
       Yes, far too many kids are growing up without a blessing 
     their parents and grandparents took for granted: two married 
     parents who built a stable life together for themselves and 
     their children. Too many youngsters are growing up 
     intellectually impaired because their teen-aged parent, 
     barely out of childhood herself, doesn't know how to or 
     simply can't afford to provide a secure, stable home in which 
     a child can get a healthy start.
       But surely the best solution isn't to create more 
     dependence on government. Generations of parents, relying on 
     instinct and tradition, have equipped their young for 
     success, often with the help of extended family and of 
     neighborhood, tribal, religious or social institutions. What 
     a sad thing it would be to surrender to the idea that the 
     human species has lost its ability to care for its young. 
     What a sad thing to reach the point where bureaucrats would 
     be trusted to carry out the responsibilities that once 
     belonged to families.

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