[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 87 (Thursday, June 13, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H6403-H6404]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  WHO REALLY SPEAKS FOR THE CHILDREN?

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Florida [Mr. Weldon] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WELDON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, when talking about children, 
there are significant differences between Democrats and Republicans. 
Republicans do not believe it takes Washington bureaucrats and spending 
to raise a child.
  But after 30 years of a failed welfare system, a rapidly failing 
public education system, and a deteriorating justice system, 
Republicans have a different answer. What it takes to raise a child 
successfully today is quite simple: two responsible parents. What 
children need is not more Government spending but a mother and a father 
who care about them.
  When talking about children, Republicans begin with three principles:
  First, that the moral health of a nation is no less important than 
its economic or military strength. The fact is, you cannot have a 
healthy moral environment to raise children in America when 12-year-
olds are having babies, 15-year-olds are killing each other, 17-year-
olds are dying of AIDS, and 18-year-olds are graduating with diplomas 
they cannot read. If we are to restore the moral health of America, 
this behavior has got to stop.
  Second, it is the results, not the rhetoric, that counts. Anyone can 
sound compassionate, but the truly compassionate are those that go out 
and find ways to make the lives of our children more happy and healthy.

[[Page H6404]]

  And third, we must be willing to face ourselves in the mirror and be 
honest with the American people about the failure of the Washington 
welfare system to help those who need it most. It is our responsibility 
as elected officials to acknowledge that Washington got it wrong, so 
that next time we can get it right.
  The welfare trap in this country literally enslaves generations of 
Americans on Government assistance by depriving hope, diminishing 
opportunity, and destroying the lives of our precious children.

  Just look at our inner cities. You will meet a generation fed on food 
stamps but starved of nurturing, hope, and basic education.
  Yet every year Washington spends more money on more welfare programs, 
expanding the welfare trap from one child to another, from one 
generation to another. What the Democrats do not understand is that 
raising more taxes to expand a welfare system that does not work now 
will only make matters worse later.
  And welfare is not the only problem facing children. Among 
industrialized nations at the start of this decade, we had the most 
murders, the worst schools, the most abortions, the highest infant 
mortality, the most illegitimacy, the most one-parent families, the 
most children in jail, and the most children on Government aid.
  A Washington-based social policy does not help children. It destroys 
them. It does not keep families together. It tears them apart. Instead 
of turning urban areas of America into shining cities on a hill, it has 
made them into war zones.
  We have spent $7 trillion on welfare-related programs, and yet we 
have more poverty, more crime, more drug addiction, more broken 
families, and more immoral behavior. The Washington welfare system is 
broken and needs to be shut down. We need to start over.
  But there are alternatives that are less expensive and work better 
than the current system.
  Why does Habitat for Humanity work so much better than HUD? Because 
Habitat for Humanity first requires recipients to learn the 
responsibility of home ownership, then requires them to build a home 
for someone else, and only then do they build their own home. What does 
HUD require? Absolutely nothing. Do you see the difference? The private 
charity requires something of the individual.
  The current Washington-based welfare system demands no 
responsibility, no work ethic, no learning, no commitment, and in the 
end, no pride. What we need are local solutions that involve local 
citizens working with local children.
  Spending more on the current Washington welfare system will not help 
children. We have to rebuild parents, families, and communities, but 
you cannot do it from Washington. It has to be done at home, in school, 
and at church.
  But it is also time we tackle the problem of American culture.
  Think of what your own children will be watching on television 
tonight. Think of what they will see at the movies this weekend. It is 
wrong, it's harmful, and we cannot tolerate it any longer. It's time to 
challenge the entertainment industry to end its decadent slide. What we 
tolerate today would have been unacceptable 25 years ago.
  And so the question for America is whether we move into the future, 
or remain in the past. Do we demand more from parents, or do we leave 
it to Washington to solve all our ills? Do we return control of 
education to the local community, or do we run education from a Federal 
department in Washington? Do we change the welfare system and restore 
hope and optimism to the next generation, or do we continue to accept 
the welfare world of dependency, illegitimacy and despair?
  And most importantly, do we make a real commitment to improve the 
lives of children across the country, or do we use children as 
political pawns in the upcoming election?

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