[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 54 (Thursday, March 23, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H3716]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    WELFARE REFORM NEEDED IN AMERICA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Georgia [Mr. NORWOOD] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. NORWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield to my friend, Mr. 
HOKE.
  Mr. HOKE. Mr. Speaker, I just want to point out to the gentlewoman 
from North Carolina [Mrs. Clayton], that according to the CRS report of 
March 20, 1995, that for her fine State of North Carolina there will be 
a $10,343,816 increase from 1995 to 1996 in the Republican block grant 
program for school-based child nutrition programs.
                              {time}  2145

  Mr. NORWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to speak about fathers. 
In our debate on this critical welfare reform bill, it seems to me that 
in all our talk of mothers and children, we have forgotten the role of 
fathers. Now I know that our welfare reform bill includes tough 
legislation to make deadbeat dads pay for the children they have 
fathered. But I would ask my colleagues to consider the much larger 
issue of why we have such a problem with absentees fathers. The tragedy 
of the present welfare system is that it has lead to in increase in 
illegitimacy.
  Could the welfare system be any more destructive to the family than 
it is? It has made fathers trivial. The illegitimacy rate in this 
Nation has risen from 7 percent in 1965 to 32 percent in 1992. The more 
I think about it the more I struck by one simple question--where have 
the fathers of these illegitimate children gone? The answer is 
terrifying. Fathers have been replaced by the Federal Government 
through the welfare system. What a ridiculous idea. The Federal 
Government is nobody's father. The Federal Government should never try 
to serve as anyone's father. It is disgraceful that so many people have 
become dependent upon the Federal Government
  Mr. Speaker, when I was growing up in Valdosta, Georgia, my father 
Charles Norwood was there for me. He was a simple man, a printer, and 
he was there for me, to teach me right from wrong, to let me know in no 
uncertain terms when I behaved unacceptably. My father put bread on our 
table, clothes on our backs, and a roof over our head.
  All I learned about respect and responsibility, I learned from my 
Democratic father. From him, I learned that I needed to be responsible 
for myself, not ever once considering that government would take care 
of me.
  Mr. Speaker, an entire generation of young people are being born 
today without fathers. Why do children need fathers in today's America? 
The food on their table comes from food stamps. The roof over their 
head comes from public housing. When you need a doctor, there's always 
Medicaid. And of course the clothes on their backs come by way of a 
welfare check. We are replacing the financial importance of fathers 
with the power of the Federal Government to take from one man's labor 
and give to others. But what of the moral importance of fathers? That 
role has simply been abandoned by the welfare system. The social fabric 
of our society is being torn apart by the disappearance of the family 
unit.
  Mr. Speaker, our welfare reforms are an important step forward in 
trying to restore the value of fatherhood in this Nation, because we 
say to those people who would seek the assistance of government * * * 
you must be responsible in having children; you cannot continue to 
expect an additional payment simply for having an additional child. We 
say to welfare mothers, you must name the father of your child * * * 
and we say to those fathers, you must be responsible for your actions. 
Our reforms force people to consider the responsibility of their 
behavior in parenting.
  Mr. Speaker, I know the debate has tended to focus on welfare 
mothers, but I'm deeply concerned about the fathers of the 1 in 3 
babies born out of wedlock. I want to say to them, be a man and accept 
your responsibilities. Parenting is not a game; it means tremendous 
obligation that you must uphold. It is not just a financial 
responsibility, it is being there for your children, it is teaching 
them right from wrong, it is teaching them values and making sure they 
know what it means to be a productive member of our society. It is 
being sure that your children learn to take care of themselves. It is 
making sure that your children live a better and more productive life 
than their parents. It is making sure that you leave your children a 
better America.
  To my colleagues on the other side, I would ask you to step back and 
consider what has happened to our society. This bill is not simply 
about welfare mothers and their children. This bill is about the 
destruction of families. You cannot possibly defend what the welfare 
system has done to families. It is deplorable; it is immoral; it is 
undeniably wrong. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to drop the nasty 
rhetoric we have used the past few days, and do what is so clearly 
right to reestablish the sanctity of the American family.


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