[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 104 (Tuesday, July 16, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H7538]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  WELFARE SHOULD NOT BE A WAY OF LIFE

  (Mr. HEFLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Speaker, one of the most troubling legacies of the 
decades of liberal control of Congress is a failed welfare system that 
encourages complacency and punishes those who attempt to work.
  Welfare was originally proposed as a temporary safety net for those 
who fell victim to unfortunate circumstances. It has evolved into a 
system that 5 million families depend upon for an average length of 13 
years.
  The Republican plan to reform welfare believes that this system has 
failed not just economically, but philosophically. A well-intentioned 
plan to help people get back onto their feet has turned into a system 
that penalizes people who try to work and traps them in a cycle of 
welfare dependancy.
  The Republican bill will restore welfare to a system that reflects 
the original intentions of its authors and reflects the philosophies 
that an overwhelming majority of Americans support: that welfare should 
not be a way of life and that the system should encourage work and 
personal responsibility.

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