[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 23, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H748]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               WELFARE STATE ENCOURAGING FAMILY BREAKDOWN

  (Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, as a candidate for President 4 
years ago, Bill Clinton said that he would ``end welfare as we know 
it.''
  Earlier this month, President Clinton vetoed a welfare bill that 
would have done exactly what candidate Clinton had promised.
  Let us review some of the facts.
  Almost $5 trillion has been spent on the welfare state since LBJ 
launched the war on poverty.
  Over half of the individuals receiving AFDC remain dependent on 
welfare for 10 or more years.
  In 1973, the illegitimacy rate for AFDC mothers was 32 percent. 
Today, it is over 50 percent.
  Mr. Speaker, the welfare state has become a system that encourages 
family breakdown and government dependence. It fails to hold absentee 
fathers accountable and traps young people in poverty. When given a 
chance to change this destructive system, Bill Clinton again proved 
that he is a say anything, do nothing liberal President.

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