[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 20 (Wednesday, February 1, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H1038]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  COST EFFECTIVENESS IN WELFARE REFORM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Markey] is recognized for 2 minutes.
  Mr. MARKEY. I thank the Speaker very much, and I thank the Republican 
leadership who are at this point graciously allowing me to speak out of 
order.
  Mr. Speaker, at this juncture, at the conclusion of the special 
order, we are invoking Mo Udall's old saying that everything has been 
said but not everybody has said it.
  As we conclude this, I would just like to point out that one out of 
five children in the United States is poor. Poor. Fifteen million 
children live in single-parent homes, that is, where there is only one 
parent, and those children are five times as likely to be poor as 
children who live in families that have two parents.

                              {time}  2000

  That is a staggeringly large number, millions and millions of 
children who are in this condition.
  Thirty-seven percent of the women who control these households get 
support from the men who father the children, but over 60 percent of 
these women get no help from the fathers.
  Let me give some statistics. Nationwide each year $34 billion goes 
uncollected in child support from fathers, $34 billion. Contrast that 
with the total amount of money that every taxpayer in America is asked 
to contribute to help out these mothers. It is $23 billion.
  So for all of the AFDC mothers and children in America, the total 
amount of money which is paid is $23 billion.
  The fathers owe $34 billion. Taxpayers have every right to be 
outraged. Why should they dip into their pockets to pay for what 
fathers across this country should be responsible for kicking in every 
day? I don't think the average taxpayer would mind paying if they felt 
mothers and fathers actually needed it.
  I hope we continue to discuss this subject in the future.

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