[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 57 (Tuesday, March 28, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E704-E705]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                  PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT OF 1995

                                 ______


                               speech of

                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 23, 1995

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4) to 
     restore the American family, reduce illegitimacy, control 
     welfare spending and reduce welfare dependence:

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to remind my colleagues of the 
most critical aspect of this welfare reform debate--the effect this 
legislation will have on poor children in our Nation.
  Child poverty is an enormous drain on the Nation's economy. Every 
year of child poverty will end up costing billions of dollars in lower 
future productivity, special education, crime, foster care, and teenage 
pregnancy.
  We must create long-term solutions for this shameful problem of child 
poverty in our country. Yet this Republican welfare reform bill seeks 
to solve this problem by punishing our Nation's children simply for 
this misfortune of being born to a family without means or resources.
  This bill punishes children born out of wedlock, born to an unmarried 
teenage mother, born to a welfare family, or born without established 
paternity.
  Poor young children in working families are victims of this bill. 
Twenty six percent of children under 6 years old live in poverty, 
nearly 
[[Page E705]] twice the number of poor adults over 18. Yet the 
Republican proposal would reduce Federal funding for child care by 20 
percent over 5 years. Child care assistance is often the key to whether 
families can move from welfare to work. How can reform succeed if this 
need is not sufficiently addressed?
  Disabled children are victims of this bill. The Republican proposal 
would cut SSI benefits to disabled children by $10.9 billion over 5 
years. Within 6 months, 250,000 of the 900,000 severely disabled 
children now receiving benefits would lose them. These children already 
face difficulties in coping with the world, only to be met with more 
challenges in these cuts.
  Abused and neglected children are victims of this bill. Incidents of 
child abuse number up to 3 million a year, yet child welfare and 
protection programs, including foster care and adoption assistance, 
will be replaced with a block grant, cutting $2.7 billion in funding 
over 5 years.
  Hungry children are victims of this bill. The School Breakfast and 
Lunch programs and the WIC program will be replaced with nutrition 
block grants. Funding for these block grants is set below the funding 
which would have occurred under the current programs, yet the number of 
families in need of these programs continues to rise.
  We are responsible for our children's future. When our children are 
neglected, our Nation will suffer. President Harry Truman said that 
nothing is more important in our national life than the welfare of our 
children. If you believe this as I do, you will join with me in 
opposition to this legislation that will undeniably harm our most 
valuable resource.


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