[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 123 (Thursday, July 27, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S10771]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




[[Page S 10771]]


                             WELFARE REFORM

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I rise to continue the discussion that was 
begun several minutes ago by my freshman colleagues on the status of 
welfare in this country today.
  Mr. President, since the Government launched the war on poverty in 
1963, more than $5 trillion have been invested in the fight. Yet, 
clearly, poverty is still winning.
  Individual dependence upon the State has increased with every 
Government intervention. Not only are there more people living in 
poverty today than ever before but, thanks to welfare, whole 
generations of Americans have lived and died without ever owning a 
home, holding down a steady job, or knowing the love and support of 
both a mother and a father.
  In the world of welfare, benefits replace work, checks replace 
fathers, and the Government is the family of first resort.
  Illegitimacy has been subsidized on a grand scale, and like other 
federally subsidized program, it has grown beyond our wildest 
imaginings, with the number of children now born out of wedlock now 
topping 30 percent.
  Mr. President, the only thing great about the Great Society is its 
great size, its great cost, and the great power it holds over the lives 
of people, who are not only bound to poverty but left without hope.
  In my home State of Tennessee, I can testify to the fact that the 
current welfare system has failed Tennesseans.
  In Shelby County where Memphis is located, one out of every four 
families receives a monthly check from the Federal Government. With 
taxpayer-subsidized teen pregnancy, and dead-beat dads refusing to 
accept responsibility for their children, most of those newly entrapped 
children will have little chance of escaping a lifetime of poverty.
  Yet, we continue to measure the depth of our compassion by the number 
of people who are dependent upon a Government Check.
  Mr. President, it is time we started measuring compassion by the 
number of people who are independent, who have hope, and who experience 
the dignity of work.
  It is time we stopped subsidizing illegitimacy and the kind of self-
destructive behavior it spawns, and instead encourage responsibility.
  It is time we faced up to the fact that the so-called war on poverty 
is in fact a war on people.
  Mr. President, as a physician, I know how crucial it is to match the 
treatment to the sickness. The wrong medicine can kill, even when 
prescribed with good intentions.
  By continuing to subsidize a system that penalizes people for 
working, for being responsible for their families, we only ensure that 
the war on people will continue.
  The time has come to look to individuals and to State and local 
governments, who work closely with ailing communities and who know 
better than we, what medicine to prescribe, and how to begin the true 
healing of the conditions of poverty.
  Mr. President, I recently met with a group of law enforcement 
professionals, from throughout the State of Tennessee, who came to 
advise me on practical, concrete ways to turn communities around.
  These men and women, whose cumulative experience in law enforcement 
exceeds 500 years, are frustrated by Federal programs that provide 
welfare benefits to convicted felons. They are frustrated by Federal 
rule of evidence that hamstring their efforts to stop the flow of drugs 
and the violence that results.
  They believe parents should be held accountable for the actions of 
their children, and they want the authority and the resources to take 
back our public spaces and make them safe for all Americans.
  Mr. President, I call upon the American people to listen to their 
hearts and to hold fast to their vision. Despite the din of rhetoric in 
support of the status quo, the American people know that they elected 
us to do the very thing we are now trying to do.
  They asked us to return control of their lives and their Government 
to local communities.
  They asked us to spend their money wisely. They asked us to change 
incentives, and create a welfare system that promotes work, that 
strengthens families and that provides an opportunity for all Americans 
to succeed.
  They asked us to do these things because they are compassionate, and 
we know they are holding us, and our proposals, to a high standard of 
compassion.
  But compassion means that we create a genuine safety net for those 
who, because of circumstances beyond their control, are truly in need.
  Mr. President, the original intent and design of the welfare system 
was to provide a temporary means of support for those struggling 
between jobs, or facing insurmountable difficulties. Yet, today's 
welfare families remain on the rolls for an average of 13 years, 
counting repeat spells.
  Obviously, somewhere along the way, we have lost sight of the purpose 
of welfare.
  For the sake of the children, we must restructure the system. And the 
first step is to require that those who can, go to work and become self 
reliant.
  Mr. President, in my practice as a transplant surgeon in Tennessee, I 
witnessed the effects of our misguided welfare system every day.
  One out of every three of my transplant patients was below the 
poverty level. Some tried--and they tried hard--but could not get a 
job. Some did not want to work. But almost all felt trapped by the 
current welfare system which pulls families apart.
  Caring for these individuals, I heard the same stories, again and 
again. Young teenage single mothers would explain that the Government 
would pay them $50 more a month if they moved out of their parents' 
home, away from their family--and away from the only support system 
they had to pull themselves out of the welfare trap.
  Mr. President, the current welfare system slams shut the window of 
opportunity. Children trapped in the vicious welfare cycle need 
answers, and they need them now.
  By consolidating programs, we can reduce the costs of bureaucracy and 
get the money to our children. By giving States the flexibility they 
need to address their unique problems, we empower them to address the 
specific needs of our children. By empowering people and communities, 
we strike a blow at the root of violence and crime and give the streets 
back to our children. Finally, by creating incentives that promote 
responsible parenting and individual achievement, we give children 
hope.
  Mr. President, there is a bright side to our current fiscal 
situation. We have been forced to reevaluate a faulty system.
  We have been given the opportunity to regroup, to restructure, and to 
find new ways of helping those in need.
  Those of us who are committed to change have behind us the full force 
of the American people. Those who argue against these changes have 
nothing on their side but the dismal history of the past 30 years.
  Mr. President, I thank the Chair, and yield the floor.
  Mr. SPECTER addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania.

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