[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 76 (Thursday, June 16, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 16, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                REAL WELFARE REFORM IS SELF-SUFFICIENCY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Horn] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, while the President's rhetoric is in the right 
place in his desire to end problems with the present welfare system, 
his new welfare reform plan just will not accomplish that goal. Rather 
than ending welfare as we know it, President Clinton has chosen an 
approach that only perpetuates welfare as we know it.
  Welfare's original intent was good--it was a temporary program to 
help people through difficult times. But as we all know, it has turned 
into a permanent way of life for all too many people. Therefore, 
welfare reform must include efforts that assist welfare recipients to 
become employed. And we must focus on reducing the number of out-of-
wedlock births--no one should have a child in order to receive welfare 
benefits.
  Any welfare reform will fail if it does not take strong measures to 
halt the rising number of illegitimate births. Unfortunately, President 
Clinton's plan does not address this root cause of welfare dependency.
  And while the President recognizes the need for work in order to 
escape the welfare cycle, his bill would actually reduce the total 
number of welfare recipients required to work--at least in the short-
term.
  The President's bill just does not support putting welfare recipients 
to work on a permanent basis. The work requirement in the President's 
bill exempts mothers born before 1972. That means 80 percent of the 
welfare caseload will be exempt in the first year of the President's 
plan. That is not welfare reform. Other loopholes in the President's 
bill will result in less than 9 percent of the welfare caseload being 
required to work between now and the year 2000. Think of it, less than 
9 percent of the welfare caseload will be required to work between now 
and the year 2000. According to the Washington Post, 5 years after the 
President's proposal is enacted, about half of the estimated 5.5 
million adults on welfare would continue collecting checks with no new 
work requirement whatsoever. It is business as usual.
  Finally, President Clinton's plan will cost American taxpayers the 
unbelievable amount of $9.3 billion. This is not welfare reform.
  Few people really want to stay on welfare. What they want is a chance 
to earn their own way and to provide for their families. We in Congress 
must enact welfare legislation that helps them achieve this goal of 
self-sufficiency.
  Mr. Speaker, legislation which does not address the goal of self-
sufficiency is simply a disguise for reform that is committing fraud on 
not only the American people who have hopes that change will finally 
come, but fraud on the people caught in the cycle of welfare 
dependency.
  Mr. Speaker, we need real reform, not rhetoric reform.

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