[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 59 (Thursday, May 8, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H2429-H2430]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1845
LEGISLATION CORRECTING FLAWS IN NEW WELFARE LAW
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Stearns). Under a previous order of the
House, the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Woolsey] is recognized for
5 minutes.
Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, today we debated new ways to punish
juvenile offenders, but last Congress the Republican majority enacted a
welfare reform law that punishes children whose only crime is being
poor. It is time for us to address the problems in the new welfare law.
So today I, along with my colleague, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton
from the District of Columbia, introduced two pieces of legislation
that would correct some of the flaws in the new welfare legislation. We
did this to give parents and kids on welfare a fighting chance.
Mr. Speaker, I am a former welfare mother, so I understand what goes
on inside a welfare mother's mind. The main thing is anxiety. Will
there be enough food for our children? Are my kids safe at home and at
school? Am I doing what is best for them? Will I ever be able to get
out of this mess?
These questions have always been tough to answer, but the new welfare
law has made it even tougher. Parts of this law actually penalize moms
who are trying to protect their children and improve their prospects
for a better future.
So today, Delegate Norton and I introduced two essential bills aimed
at correcting serious flaws in the law. Our bills give welfare moms a
fighting chance. One bill helps ensure that the children of welfare
mothers are safe, as we wish all of our children to be; the other gives
moms on welfare the educational opportunities that the rest of us take
for granted.
The first bill is called the home alone bill. It is called that
because it is aimed at preventing kids from being left home alone,
unsupervised and unsafe. Right now, under this welfare bill that was
passed, moms with kids age 6 and above can be forced to leave their
children at home while they work, even if there is no suitable child
care available. In fact, if they do not go to work, no matter that they
have to leave their children home alone, they lose their welfare
benefits.
Our bill is very simple. It raises the age from 6 years old to 11
years old. It protects kids and it protects their moms. This is really
not asking too much. Would any of us put up with being required to
leave a 6-year-old home alone? No, we would not.
Mr. Speaker, welfare recipients generally live in the poorest
neighborhoods, neighborhoods where child care is not always available.
That leaves children to the school of the streets, a tough school, a
school known for its lessons in drugs, violence and crime. Home alone,
if we are to protect a generation of children, should not be. There
should be no place like it for our children.
The second bill, one that we introduced today also, allows welfare
recipients to meet the work requirements of the new welfare law by
acquiring the skills needed for permanent employment. It lets education
qualify as work under the new welfare law. Americans have long realized
that education is the door to success, but our new welfare law has
basically told welfare recipients that the only door open to them is
the employees' entrance to McDonald's. And, Mr. Speaker, statistics
show that, even though low-paying jobs are easily lost during bad
economic times.
How did I get off welfare? I had determination and I had an
education. But only 32 percent of welfare recipients have a high school
diploma. Only 10 percent ever attended a college class. Let us not
condemn people who are striving to get off welfare to a lifetime of low
wages and drudgery. Let us not condemn their children to the rules of
the streets.
If we want welfare recipients to work, let us make welfare reform
work for them. If we want the poor to aspire to a better life, let us
make it attainable for them. That is what our bill does, Mr. Speaker.
It makes education qualify as work under the new welfare law. It moves
us closer to what welfare reform is supposed to be, permanent self-
sufficiency.
These two bills are just the start. In coming months to Progressive
Caucus will introduce other legislation designed to assist welfare
recipients to get off welfare permanently, and they will be intended to
help people get off welfare through jobs that pay a livable wage, jobs
that they can support their families on.
These two bills that we introduced today correct some of the flaws in
the welfare law, and we plan to fight hard
[[Page H2430]]
to see that these laws in these bills will be enacted. I personally
plan to keep fighting for welfare moms and their families.
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