[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 49 (Wednesday, April 23, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S3545]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         PUTTING FAMILIES FIRST: 100 DAYS PAST DUE AND COUNTING

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, over the past months South Dakota has 
suffered some of the worst disasters in recent memory. The drifts of 
snow that have paralyzed our State and killed over 100,000 cattle are 
at last melting, but their runoff has swelled our lakes and rivers to 
overflowing and forced thousands to evacuate in the face of devastating 
floodwaters. Only the hard work of South Dakotans, building dikes and 
filling sandbags to save the homes of their friends and neighbors, has 
prevented the serious disaster we are facing from having more 
catastrophic consequences.
  I am also proud to say that during these disasters, our bipartisan 
elected leadership has set politics aside and worked together for the 
good of our State. Our Democratic President, our Republican Governor, 
our entire congressional delegation, and every local leader have made 
overcoming the disaster our first priority. As Governor Bill Janklow of 
South Dakota stated, ``There is no way that Republican or Democrat 
politics should come into play when we are dealing with the things that 
are vital to all the people of this State.'' Together, we believe that 
meeting the needs of our families and our communities should always 
come first.
  This philosophy has served South Dakota well during its time of need, 
and I am convinced that what has worked in South Dakota can work here 
in Washington. Recently, we passed the 100th day of this Congress. 
Since we began this session, 14 million children attended classes in 
schools that are falling apart, 180,000 babies were born without health 
care coverage and 51 million workers labored without a pension plan. 
Unfortunately, this Congress has accomplished nothing to meet these 
dire needs. It is now time to make good on our pledges of cooperation. 
Just as South Dakotans have joined together for the good of our State, 
we in Congress must join together for the good of our country and 
deliver much-needed relief to America's working families.

  On the first day of the 105th Congress, I introduced bills to enact 
the Families First Agenda to raise the incomes of working families, 
extend affordable health coverage to children, expand the retirement 
benefits of workers, and make it easier for students of all ages to 
receive a quality education. Now it is time to roll up our sleeves and 
get to work. I urge my colleagues to join with me to support America's 
families. Every day we wait is another day they struggle to make ends 
meet.
  Mr. President, I would like to bring to the attention of my 
colleagues a very important letter I received from Kym Pacheco, a 
resident of Sioux Falls, SD. It is a heartbreaking letter, and it tells 
the story of working families better than any words of mine. Despite a 
105-hour work week as a truck driver, Kym's husband earns just enough 
for the family to get by. Each month they struggle to pay their rent 
and the grocery, gas, and phone bills. ``Mind you,'' she writes, ``none 
of this includes car repairs, school supplies, clothes, medications, or 
car insurance. There are no luxuries--week-end vacations, a nice car, 
trips to McDonald's. What we wouldn't do to be able to take our son to 
the Black Hills for a week! . . . But we cannot put any money into the 
savings. We literally live paycheck to paycheck!''
  Mr. President, no one in our Nation who works 105 hours a week should 
live one paycheck away from an empty stomach or a missed rent payment. 
Families like Kym's work hard but cannot get ahead, and they fear for 
the future of their children. They have faith that life can be better, 
but they are depending upon us to give them the help they need. We 
cannot let them down. As Kym continues, ``There are so many problems in 
the U.S., but I honestly believe that when our government starts 
passing laws that actually give families affordable, decent coverage 
health insurance, decent wages, tax breaks for poor and middle class 
working families, our country will become better. It would be a start! 
Our children deserve an opportunity to live better than we did!''
  Mr. President, her children do deserve that opportunity, and we can 
give it to them. Let us accept Kym's challenge. If we put the interests 
of working families before party politics, we can provide working 
families with tax breaks for education and ensure that parents can 
afford to take their children to the doctor. We can ensure that in 
future years when Kym's children retire they will have financial 
security. All of this is in our power, but to meet our goal we must 
work together. I hope my colleagues will join me in this task.

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