[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 118 (Thursday, July 20, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S10334]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    WELFARE REFORM, NOT REFORMATORY

  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, first of all, before my colleague 
leaves, we come here to speak on the floor and we have other 
engagements. Let me just say to him that I think we are totally in 
agreement on the need for a full discussion and debate. Hopefully, it 
will be one that is done with a considerable amount of substance and 
grace and dignity on welfare. I do think it would be a mistake to fold 
this into a reconciliation bill because I think whenever you are 
considering such a major departure from public policy--and this is a 
major departure of public policy--it is a mistake to fold it into the 
reconciliation bill where you really do not have the opportunity for 
the debate and discussion.
  I say to my friend from Missouri that, if he is going to speak in 
morning business, I would really prefer to let him have the time, so I 
will just take 2 minutes rather than taking up the rest of the time for 
now. I do think there are a couple of things that concern me about what 
is called welfare reform.
  First of all, I want to make sure it is not reformatory as opposed to 
reform. It seems to me real welfare reform enables a family--and in the 
main we are talking about women and children --to make the transition 
from welfare to workfare. Now, we have been talking about that for a 
long time. Actually, Franklin Delano Roosevelt talked about that in 
1935 when what we now know as the AFDC Program was introduced as a part 
of the Social Security Act.
  The problem is when we talk about moving to workfare as opposed to 
welfare, it is very difficult to have any welfare reform unless, in 
fact, there is affordable family child care. I mean, it is very 
difficult today for a single parent. Almost all of these single parents 
are women. In some ways I wish more were men. And I wish there were 
less single parents, period, No. 1; and, No. 2--and I think the Chair 
and I agree on this--men took more responsibility. But if we are going 
to say to a single parent, ``You need to work,'' there are a couple of 
critical ingredients to make sure this is real welfare reform and not 
reformatory. One is for especially smaller children, that there is 
affordable child care. That is not done on the cheap.
  I know that in Minnesota, one of the problems that we have run into--
and I think we are doing a really good job on welfare reform--is we 
have long waiting lists. As a result of that, many of the mothers that 
you talk to cannot make the transition to work because they simply 
cannot afford or find--not custodial--but developmental child care for 
their children.
  A welfare family is not 1 mother and 10 children. We are usually 
talking about one mother and two children.
  I will be done because I do not want to take the time away from my 
colleague from Missouri and we will have plenty of time for debate on 
this.
  The second point is the one we talk about all the time, which is we 
have to somehow figure out where health care reform fits into this, 
because all too often what happens is a single parent goes back to 
school, a mother goes back to school, a community college, maybe then 
finishes up at the University of Minnesota, then tries to get a job. 
The Washington Post had a very, very good portrait about this. What 
happens is, you are no longer receiving Medicaid, you are paying child 
care, and if you look at the wages that are out there for jobs, you are 
behind. So we have to make sure that, in fact, families are able to 
make this transition without punishing families. So I think the health 
care reform piece is critically important.
  Finally, I think this is a challenge for all of us. I think it goes 
well beyond welfare reform policy. We really need to look at the 
fundamental question of standard of living in this country and the 
squeeze on the vast middle class and what has been going on for the 
last 15 years, plus--I am not pointing the finger in any party 
direction--and I think the overwhelming challenge is to have an economy 
that produces good jobs that people can count on. I think that has to 
be part of welfare reform as well, so a mother has a job that pays a 
wage, has benefits on which she can support her children. I think we 
need to look at these much more carefully.
  I could say more. I will not. My colleague is anxious to speak. I 
yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Santorum). The Senator from Missouri.

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