[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 111 (Thursday, July 31, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H6688-H6689]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             WELFARE REFORM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Texas [Ms. Jackson-Lee] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this has been quite a day. 
Sometimes in the heat of debate the clarity of what has been done has 
become more confused and a little less evident. So I think it is 
important today to clarify for the American people and for those who 
have worked so hard to drive the economic engine of this Nation to 
clarify for them that this legislation, this tax bill, this tax bill 
that was truly a creature of a bipartisan effort led by a President who 
never shies away from the Democratic principles that helped to elect 
him orchestrated.
  It is a time, as well, to be able to applaud those who sat at the 
negotiating table and to recognize those of us who were soldiers on 
this floor who said that we would maintain the battle line to ensure 
that dignity would be given to those citizens who worked every day 
making $25,000 a year, $30,000 a year, $50,000 a year, and $75,000 a 
year.
  It is important, however, that those of us who advocated that 
position, those Democratic principles for working men and women not be 
labeled as not understanding that it is business that adds to the 
economic engine, it is business which we foster under the capitalistic 
system that those around the world applaud and admire and try to 
emulate and imitate.
  So it is important in this discussion to say a few things. One, it is 
valuable to acknowledge, as my colleagues have heard over and over 
again, the tax credit that will be given to families no matter what 
their income if it falls under, for example, $75,000. So a $20,000-a-
year family making $8,000 maybe the spouse and $14,000 the other 
spouse, $22,000 they can get the tax credit for their children. The 
children of the working poor and working families are no less valuable 
than those making thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars. I 
am gratified for that.
  We stayed on the battle line for that issue and it is very, very 
important. Then I would like to mention that I voted against the 
Republican welfare reform bill. Oh, not because I was not the advocate 
of all of those who want to raise themselves up, all the constituents 
in any district whose homes did not look as attractive as someone else, 
when I went to their homes and they were on welfare and they were 
dependent on public assistance. They said, ``I really want a job. I 
want to get out of this.'' But I was not going to vote for a bill that 
did not give child care, give job training.

  And yet, now we have a tax bill that gives $3 billion to cities. We 
bypassed

[[Page H6689]]

all the bureaucracy to help move people from welfare to work to help 
create jobs and yes an amendment that I offered in the 104th Congress 
to give tax incentives to those good employers who will take those 
people off the rolls and give them jobs, working mothers like I spent 
30 minutes on the phone late at night. A mother who was on crack said, 
``I simply want to work and show my daughter it can be done.'' She is 
going to benefit and the person who hires her is going to be benefit as 
well by this tax credit that will begin to those who hire former 
welfare recipients moving from welfare to work and the $3 billion to 
our cities will help them provide training and help them along.
  My airline friends were in controversy, small airliners versus large 
airliners. There are thousands of employees. The airline industries 
over the years have become more and more prosperous. I am gratified 
that we tried to work something out, decreasing the ticket tax, and 
then sort of working with our international airlines.
  But we are not finished yet. I will promise them that I will monitor 
this so that airlines like Southwest Airlines, that has been so good to 
Texas, can keep strong, and Continental Airlines and others can work 
together to keep this industry functioning. We did what we could in 
this bill, but I think the industry should recognize that we have got 
to work together on this.
  I have studied England, a very small nation that has a No. 3 place in 
the world in terms of its economy based mostly on the transfer of money 
over the last couple of years. The reason they have that value in their 
nation with such a small number of population is because the English 
have learned to save.
  I know America is a country of bounty and we have tended over years 
not to save. I am gratified that we can clearly point to now real 
incentives for Americans to save their money, to create savings 
accounts, to have IRA's, to ensure that those who are frugal and work 
and save will be able to handle their business well.
  Mr. Speaker, as I close, let me simply say that this tax bill is good 
for small businesses, and Democrats made it good for them, and family 
farmers by $1,300,000 incentive on the family farms when they are 
passed on to families.
  And lastly, let me commit myself to watching this tax bill so there 
is not an out explosion on the deficit, because we brought it down as 
Democrats by voting in 1993 for a budget bill. And as well, I commit 
myself to simplifying this process of filing your taxes so that 
Americans can continue to support this system that is based on 
capitalization and support a system that supports all of America.

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