[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 104 (Tuesday, July 16, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H7537]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             THE REPUBLICAN COMMONSENSE WELFARE REFORM PLAN

  (Mr. BALLENGER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BALLENGER. Mr. Speaker, just as President Wilson once claimed 
that World War I was going to be ``the war to end all wars,'' President 
Clinton has promised to ``end welfare as we know it.''
  Of course, unlike President Wilson, and despite two previous welfare 
vetoes, President Clinton still has a chance to renew his vow by 
supporting and signing the Republican commonsense welfare reform plan.
  The Republican welfare reform plan is built upon five pillars which 
ensure that any assistance is temporary and not self-destructive.
  It imposes a 5-year lifetime limit for collecting AFDC and vouchers. 
It requires able-bodied recipients to work for their benefits. It 
denies welfare benefits to noncitizens and felons. It restores power 
and flexibility to the States. And, it encourages personal 
responsibility to halt rising illegitimacy rates.
  Mr. Speaker, redemption is at hand. President Clinton need not defend 
the status quo of a failed welfare system any longer. He needs only to 
support and sign the Republican commonsense welfare reform plan.

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