[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 207 (Friday, December 22, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2453]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              GOP WELFARE BILL SENDS MILLIONS INTO POVERTY

                                 ______


                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 22, 1995

  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, Christmas is the season when charity and 
compassion go public. The time period between Thanksgiving and 
Christmas is when the true spirit of giving comes into the open. 
Outside the grocery store you see the bell ringers. Each way you turn 
there is an open mind and an open heart.
  Why do people care?
  For one reason, the Bible says we should care for the poor. The Bible 
says:

       If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the 
     towns of the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do 
     not be hard hearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. 
     Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs . 
     . . Give generously to him and do so without a grudging 
     heart. There will always be poor people in the land. 
     Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers 
     and toward the poor and needy in you land. (Deuteronomy, 
     15:7-11).

  I believe that as a society, we should care for certain groups of 
people who can't care for themselves--the poor, the elderly, the 
disabled. It is simply the right thing to do.
  What has happened since the Republican Party took control of this 
House? We have suddenly decided that these people can miraculously care 
for themselves. Even in Biblical times it was recognized that there 
will always be poor among us and that we should care from them 
generously. Why now have the Republicans decided to prioritize 
corporate and wealthy tax breaks above the poor?
  The Republican welfare bill is frightening.
  The bill denies guaranteed Medicaid coverage for children and parents 
receiving AFDC and for children receiving Federal foster care or 
adoption assistance under title IV-E of the Social Security Act. The 
welfare conference agreement could eliminate Medicaid eligibility for 1 
to 2 million low-income children leaving millions more uninsured if 
Medicaid eligibility ends. Combined with other massive social service 
cuts, this is a tragedy waiting to happen.
  The Republican budget cuts aid to severely disabled children by 25 
percent, slashing $12 billion from disabled children's SSI benefits. 
Over 160,000 children currently in the program would lose eligibility 1 
year after enactment.
  The Republicans claim they want to move people from welfare to work 
but fail to provide much needed child care.
  The Republican bill denies SSI benefits and food stamps to legal 
immigrants, and permits States to deny legal immigrants cash welfare, 
Medicaid, and title X social services.
  This punitive bill prohibits States from paying additional welfare 
benefits to families that have an additional child while on welfare. 
Don't they realize that the child is an innocent victim in this 
arrangement? The child did not ask to be born into such a family.
  This bill pays a bounty to States that reduce their illegitimacy 
ratio or the number of children born out of wedlock. This provision 
will serve only to increase the number of abortions or to further 
restrict a woman's legal right to make her own reproductive health 
choices.
  The bill does not reform welfare. It destroys the only safety net 
some people have on which to depend. At this time of holiday giving, we 
should remember those most in need; we should count our own blessings; 
and we should vote against this hard-hearted bill that will send 
millions further into poverty.