[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 21 (Thursday, February 2, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E253]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                        WELFARE, TIME, AND MONEY

                                 ______


                           HON. LOUIS STOKES

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 2, 1995
  Mr. STOKES. Mr. Speaker, as Congress considers reforming our Nation's 
welfare system, articles and editorials throughout the country are 
capturing some of the key elements of the debate on the issue.
  Just recently our distinguished colleague from Missouri, Bill Clay, 
during a hearing of the Committee on Economic Opportunities, elaborated 
on the need for a welfare system that provides education and training, 
child care and health care support for individuals. His words were 
subsequently captured in an editorial which appeared in the St. Louis 
Post Dispatch.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to share the Post Dispatch editorial with 
my colleagues. It is insightful and certainly worthwhile reading. I 
also take this opportunity to commend Bill Clay for his continued 
leadership on the welfare reform issue, and other issues of importance 
to American families.
           [From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Jan. 23, 1995]

                        Welfare, Time, and Money

       At times, the public debate over welfare is depicted in 
     ways to suggest that liberals want to do nothing about the 
     problem and that conservatives have all the right answers. If 
     the debate continues in that vein, chances are the people who 
     need help the most could get lost in the rhetoric.
       Last Wednesday, at a hearing of the Committee on Economic 
     Opportunities, the ranking Democrat, Rep. William L. Clay of 
     St. Louis, tried to boil the debate down to sensible 
     questions: Are there enough jobs for the 4.6 million adults 
     now receiving welfare? Who will care for the children while 
     their parents work?
       At issue are not people who are capable of finding work 
     immediately. Forty-six percent of them, Mr. Clay notes, have 
     less than a high school education. And the skills of the rest 
     are such that they wouldn't be able to find work that pays a 
     sufficient wage to support families.
       ``If we want welfare to become a temporary support 
     system,'' he said, ``then we must provide the education and 
     training and child care and health care support essential to 
     long-term employment. But that will take time and money.''
       Precisely. Time and money.
       But that's not all. Both the GOP and the Clinton 
     administration have to acknowledge that many of the hard-core 
     segment of the welfare population are just plain 
     unemployable. A study done for the federal government noted 
     that this segment includes many with lower IQs, among other 
     problems, making it exceptionally difficult for them to move 
     easily from public aid to private work.
       Another issue worth more discussion is the sorry state of 
     this nation's child-support payment system. Illinois is a 
     good example. A state audit found that 62 percent of the 
     court-ordered support cases lacked sufficient information, 
     such as driver's license numbers and Social Security numbers, 
     to collect payments.
       The Republican administrations at the top of Illinois 
     government certainly haven't demonstrated that their party 
     has all the solutions to welfare. Washington can make it 
     easier for states to track these so-called deadbeat parents, 
     some of whom are known to avoid their responsibilities by 
     moving to another state. Why not use Internal Revenue Service 
     records to help states keep track of these parents and make 
     them pay their fair share?
       Meanwhile, both the Republicans and the administration 
     would do well to acknowledge Mr. Clay's points that genuine 
     welfare will take time and money. To say the problem can be 
     solved quickly or cheaply is either a delusion or a 
     deception.


     

                          ____________________