[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 115 (Wednesday, July 31, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H9383]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1045
                  WELFARE SHOULD NOT BE A WAY OF LIFE

  (Mr. BASS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BASS. Mr. Speaker, between 1965 and 1994 $5.4 trillion has been 
spent on welfare. Federal, State, and local welfare spending rose from 
$158 billion in 1975 to $324 billion in 1993.
  Now, my colleagues may think that welfare is thought of as providing 
short-term relief. Well, the fact is that the average stay on welfare 
today is 13 years.
  Now, since 1950 the population of the United States has increased 72 
percent, from 151 million to 260 million. At the same time, total 
welfare spending by Federal, State, and local governments has increased 
by 1,623 percent.
  Mr. Speaker, today the House will pass a historic welfare reform bill 
that requires work and personal responsibility and lifts families from 
lives of despair and hopelessness.
  Mr. Speaker, welfare should not be a way of life. Commonsense welfare 
reform will help end the vicious cycle of welfare dependency.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge the President to sign this historic welfare 
proposal.

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