[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 53 (Wednesday, March 22, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H3420]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                            A FAILED SYSTEM

  (Mr. TIAHRT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TIAHRT. Mr. Speaker, this week we find ourselves in the midst of 
a great debate, not just about welfare but about the basics of 
government. This debate reveals two radically different points of view 
and two radically different value systems. One value system places an 
emphasis on Government policy and believes that it is the Government's 
duty and responsibility to give poor people free money. Proponents of 
this value system are convinced that free money will help poor people. 
The other value system places a greater emphasis on the inherent value 
of people, not government. To this value system, government is a 
stumbling block, something that restricts creativity and crushes the 
human spirit. To this value system, the answer to ending poverty is not 
a handout but a helping hand.
  Mr. Speaker, the difference in this debate is striking, but the 
American people have spoken and they demand big changes to the failed 
welfare system. They have seen for themselves the consequences of a 
liberal value system. They want to return to a system that believes in 
people and not big government.

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