[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 55 (Friday, March 24, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H3737]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             WELFARE REFORM

  (Mr. MILLER of California asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, the welfare reform legislation 
we have been considering this week has critical implications for our 
Nation's children. Coupled with the rescission package this body passed 
last week, and the promise of further cuts in programs for our children 
to pay for tax cuts for the richest percent of Americans, we are facing 
the complete dismantling of the safety net for children.
  This past weekend, I held a town meeting in my congressional district 
to seek the views of those from the front lines who deal with troubled 
children on a daily basis on the consequences of the welfare reform 
package pushed by Gingrich and the Republicans. The rescission 
proposals. I heard from a broad spectrum of people--children's 
advocates, the educational and medical communities, professionals in 
child care and child protection services, the mayor of our largest 
city, parents and children themselves.
  The picture they painted was one of abandonment--abandonment of the 
Federal commitment to supporting children and families. In these times 
when entitlement has become a dirty word, they graphically reaffirmed 
why entitlements exist, and how critical they are to the well-being of 
the children of this Nation. They also confirmed that we will be 
shortsighted, indeed, if we cut the fiscal lifelines that mean 
education, jobs, innovation, training, in our low-income communities, 
and our children will suffer more.


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