[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 54 (Thursday, March 23, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H3705-H3706]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            WELFARE TO WORK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from South Carolina [Mr. Clyburn] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I think we can all agree that the welfare 
system is in need of reform. But the Republicans' idea of welfare 
reform is to callously toss welfare recipients off the government rolls 
without much thought to getting or keeping them on payrolls.
  You will get no arguments from me that the best way to reduce the 
welfare rolls is to find jobs for many of the recipients. But merely 
requiring welfare recipients to find jobs without looking at the 
factors that make it difficult for them to get or keep these jobs is a 
reform measure that is primed for failure.
  H.R. 4, is the GOP's ``Personal Responsibility Bill,'' takes 
practically no responsibility for providing mechanisms by which these 
welfare recipients can make a realistic transition from welfare to 
work.
  First, the bill that we are debating here today contains no funding 
for work programs. Under this bill, welfare recipients can receive 
government assistance for up to two years before they are required to 
work. Why not begin right away with helping these recipients find 
gainful employment?
  Second, this is the same bill that would put low-income working 
mothers in a bind by cutting federal funds to existing childcare 
programs.
  [[Page H3706]] Let's look at South Carolina, for example. Under this 
bill, federal childcare programs would be consolidated into a State 
block grant that would cut $31 million in Federal funds to the State 
over five years--meaning that over 5,000 fewer children would receive 
Federal childcare assistance that year. When are they going to realize 
that affordable and reliable childcare is a major factor in a single 
mother's ability to find and keep a job?
  Also, another crucial factor in getting welfare recipients to work 
and in keeping them working, is income. We can not realistically expect 
a working mother to be able to take care of a family while only earning 
minimum wage. If we are going to require welfare recipients to go to 
work, why not require that these jobs provide a liveable wage so that 
working moms may be able to sustain themselves and their families?
  And although this is a separate issue, if you look at the fact that a 
single mom stands to lose Medicaid benefits for themselves and their 
children in lieu of a low-paying job with no health benefits, it would 
make more sense to stay on welfare.
  Mr. Speaker, I have long been an advocate of welfare reform. But I 
support realistic and humane welfare reform--one that includes programs 
that will train current recipients for real jobs; one that addresses 
the real need for reliable and affordable day care; and one that take 
into consideration the need for real wages so that these recipients can 
become self-supporting, productive members of society.

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