[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 19 (Tuesday, January 31, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E233]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                    COMMON SENSE WELFARE REFORM ACT

                                 ______


                             HON. JIM KOLBE

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 31, 1995
  Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my colleague, Congressman 
Knollenberg, to introduce the Common Sense Welfare Reform Act. We 
believe it is not only possible, but sensible, to turn the 
administration of the welfare system over to the State capitals and the 
city halls. Block granting social programs to the States is a first 
step in reform of the welfare system. This flexibility is critical to 
allowing States to test assistance programs best suited to their needs. 
Common sense tells us that a successful program in rural Arizona may 
not necessarily work in Detroit, MI.
  We believe, however, that the debate should be taken a step further--
and that is why we are introducing the Common Sense Welfare Reform Act. 
If States can better administer welfare programs, shouldn't it follow 
that citizens know best which programs work in their communities and 
which are the most cost-effective? That's what our legislation is 
about--a partnership of State and local entities with individual 
taxpayers.
  The common sense welfare reform bill will give the people that pay 
the bills and provide the services in the community a role in how 
poverty relief efforts are structured. The Common Sense Welfare Reform 
Act consolidates over 60 overlapping, inefficient programs run by the 
Federal Government and gives the money directly to the States in block 
grant form. That's a direction in which the House is moving and is a 
necessary precondition to making our welfare privatization proposal 
work.
  Our proposal allows taxpayers to contribute up to 10 percent--not to 
exceed $2,500--of their Federal income taxes to qualified private 
charities in their State in return for a dollar-for-dollar tax credit. 
This tax credit is paid for by corresponding reductions in the block 
grant to the State in which the taxpayer lives.
  The Common Sense Welfare Reform Act serves two purposes by empowering 
taxpayers to participate in the funding decisions for poverty-relief 
services. First, we give taxpayers a voice in how services are 
delivered in their communities. We have faith in the ability of 
individuals who are in the communities to know what is working well. 
The Federal Government--or State governments, for that matter--should 
not have a monopoly on where welfare dollars are allocated. Critics of 
block grants contend that many States do not have a good track record 
in administering social programs. Our proposal, however, diffuses the 
concentration of authority over spending on poverty-relief efforts by 
leveling the playing field on which private and public charities 
compete. The Common Sense Welfare Reform Act allows taxpayers to 
determine where their poverty-relief dollars are spent the most 
effectively.
  Second, we reward private charities for doing what they have 
traditionally done best, and that is to provide prompt, temporary 
assistance. Private charities view assistance as a tool by which to 
change behavior--it is not a right nor a way of life. Because of this 
philosophy, both in theory and in practice, it is inconceivable that a 
family would subsist for generations on the local soup kitchen, food 
bank or shelter. Private charities stress personal responsibility and 
provide hands-on management for recipients. The humanizing aspect of 
private charities is missing from the impersonal public welfare 
bureaucracy which requires nothing from the recipient except 
eligibility for aid.
  Americans need to become personally involved in reforming the welfare 
system. If I may be so immodest, I would suggest that Congressman 
Knollenberg and I have a bold and innovative approach in the Common 
Sense Welfare Reform Act to allow Americans to do just that. We hope 
the momentum in the welfare debate will take our deliberations a step 
further. Let's allow taxpayers a role in providing assistance, while 
giving private charities the opportunity to compete for welfare dollars 
in a true, competitive atmosphere, instead of making their funding a 
function of who has the best grant writer or the best connections in 
Washington--or Lansing or Tallahassee.


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