[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 53 (Wednesday, March 22, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H3424]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             IN SUPPORT OF THE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT

  (Mrs. ROUKEMA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. ROUKEMA. Mr. Speaker, the American people are convinced the 
welfare system is out of control. As one prominent citizen of New 
Jersey, a Democrat at that, said to me last week, and I quote, ``No 
other civilization in the world pays young girls to have babies, but 
that is what our welfare system does.''
  You know, he is not far from wrong, and that is the perception among 
many good, generous, caring people who are deeply concerned about the 
future of this country, and they worry that we are wasting hard-earned 
taxpayer money to support a dysfunctional system that is unhealthy and 
that sentences children to a lifetime of economic, social, and 
emotional deprivation.
  In a system like this, it is the children who are the first victims, 
but the taxpayers are not very far behind.
  We must act now to reform this system. Reform must restore public 
assistance to its original purpose, a temporary safety net for those in 
need, not a permanent way of life for generations of families.


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