[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 105 (Wednesday, August 3, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 3, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                         MORE ON WELFARE REFORM

  (Mr. MEEHAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, when Jennifer Ireland got pregnant at the 
age of 15, she made the difficult decision to keep her child. She went 
on to graduate third in her class and won a full scholarship to the 
University of Michigan. At 19, Jennifer was on her way to earning a 
college degree that would help her support herself and her child 
without public assistance. For her courage and hard work, what was her 
reward? Jennifer Ireland lost custody of her daughter, Maranda, to the 
father, Steve Smith. Why would the court grant custody to an absentee 
father? Evidently the judge thought Jennifer should have dropped out of 
high school at 15 and started collecting welfare so she could be at 
home with Maranda full time. He took the child away from Jennifer, who 
planned to enroll her daughter in day care, because Steve's family 
could take care of Maranda during the day. We should keep Jennifer 
Ireland in mind as we debate welfare reform. The system--not just the 
welfare system but the courts and other Government programs--create 
perverse incentives for single mothers to drop out of school and rely 
on welfare rather than finishing their educations or going to work and 
becoming self-sufficient. The system reflects outdated and often sexist 
biases that perpetuate welfare dependency.

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