[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 39 (Thursday, March 2, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H2492]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            DEMOCRATS DISTORTING REPUBLICAN WELFARE PROPOSAL

  (Mr. EVERETT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. EVERETT. Mr. Speaker, the current welfare system has been a 
nightmare for children. It is a fact that long-term welfare dependency 
harms children.
  A study by Child Trends found that children in families dependent on 
welfare for long periods of time have more developmental problems than 
children dependent for only short periods. The problem is, most welfare 
recipients are long-term dependents. So it is no surprise to learn that 
69 percent of children in chronically dependent welfare families score 
in the bottom third of all children on vocabulary and language skills 
tests.
  The sad fact, Mr. Speaker, is that welfare is probably far worse for 
children than for anyone else involved, because it gets them into the 
same habits of dependency they are surrounded by, resulting in an 
almost unbreakable cycle of welfare.
  And yet, my liberal Democrat colleagues come to this floor to 
deceive, to distort, and to disinform about the Republican proposal on 
the school lunch program. They are so concerned with protecting the 
bureaucracy that they are blind to the greater tragedy to children that 
is going on in my State of Alabama and right outside this Capitol. That 
is sad, Mr. Speaker.


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