[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 43 (Wednesday, March 8, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H2889]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


       SUPPORT FOOD STAMP PROGRAM AND COMMODITY DISTRIBUTION ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Bryant] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BRYANT of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk about 
something we did last night on the Committee on Agriculture on which I 
serve, but first, before I get into that, I would like to address 
briefly some of the remarks I have heard on the debate this evening 
concerning the tort reform bill, and particularly the punitive damages 
aspect of that bill, the claims being made on one side that sexual 
predators and drug dealers will no longer be subject to punitive 
damages.
  Certainly as an emotional issue as this type of conduct, these types 
of conduct are, I wanted to clarify from my viewpoint and from my 
experience as a civil attorney for about 20 years, which included about 
2 years as a U.S. attorney as a Federal prosecutor, my experience in 
the area of punitive damages and this type of conduct which I find was 
not really connected.
  I never saw, in my experience, a sexual predator suit in civil court, 
but rather the more likely remedy the law has there is a criminal 
prosecution, the aggressive criminal prosecution of people who sexually 
pray on children.
  Likewise with drug dealers, what we come out there with drug dealers 
is they are arrested and prosecuted under the criminal law, not suing 
them civilly, where we put these types of people in jail for their 
conduct. Certainly in the area of drug dealers' civil forfeiture, that 
was available to us as prosecutors, to seize the ill-gotten gains that 
these people had, their assets, their homes and cars, things that were 
gained through the sale of drugs. It was certainly valid forfeitures. 
But not again in my experience have I seen the use of punitive damages 
in either one of those cases, but rather the more appropriate remedies 
of putting these people in jail.
  Mr. Speaker, I would now like to talk about the Committee on 
Agriculture, on which I serve.
  Last night, the House Agriculture Committee passed H.R. 1135, the 
Food Stamp Program and Commodity Distribution Act.
  This legislation is a big first step in the direction of real welfare 
reform.
  For 2 years now, Americans have been waiting for the current 
administration to end welfare as we know it.
  Last night, that process began.
  What this legislation will do is give that States the choice to 
determine how they want to run their Food Stamp Program.
  One of the most important aspects of this legislation is that it 
would require food stamp recipients must work to be eligible to receive 
food stamps.
  The hard-working taxpayers of my district in Tennessee would agree 
that if an able-bodied person is going to receive food stamps, then 
they should be required to work to receive them.
  It simply is not fair to stay on the rolls and make no effort to 
better one's self and try to become a productive, tax paying citizen of 
society.
  Another important part of this legislation is that it contains 
stiffer penalties for those caught abusing food stamps.
  The Federal Government will now be allowed to seize property and 
proceeds from illegal food stamp traffickers without having to go 
through mountains of red tape.
  As a former U.S. attorney, I once prosecuted an individual who tried 
to purchase a vehicle with food stamps.
  So I know firsthand that we must crack down hard on waste, fraud, and 
abuse in the Food Stamp Program.
  Mr. Speaker, the welfare reform process has indeed begun.
  The welfare system of the past and present has been a tragic failure.
  It has encouraged dependency, discouraged self-reliance, and created 
a burden for those of us who choose to be productive.
  Only until our welfare system encourages work and self-dependence 
will it be truly beneficial to society.
  H.R. 1135 will do this.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1135 when it comes to this 
Chamber for consideration.


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