[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 108 (Tuesday, August 4, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1542-E1543]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           WELFARE REFORM ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. RON PACKARD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, August 4, 1998

  Mr. PACKARD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the success of 
one of the Republican Congress' greatest achievements, the

[[Page E1543]]

Welfare Reform Act. As you know, we will soon be celebrating the second 
anniversary of the Welfare Reform Act, which was signed into law on 
August 22, 1996. Today, we can proudly proclaim that our critics could 
not have been more wrong about the effect of this legislation. Despite 
the predictions of many of our colleagues from across the aisle and 
those in the administration who insisted we were wrong, our plan to end 
welfare has proved successful beyond all expectations.
  Mr. Speaker, the numbers speak for themselves. Welfare rolls have 
dropped 37 percent since their peak in 1994 and 27 percent since 
enactment of the Welfare Reform Plan. More importantly, we've ended the 
old practice of rewarding people for doing the wrong thing. Today's 
welfare recipients are required to work and enter job placement 
programs. Gone are the days when an able-bodied person could sit at 
home and collect a bigger check each time they added another dependent 
child to their family.
  We have not only changed an unhealthy mind-set in America, we've save 
taxpayers endless amounts of money. In the 30 years before a Republican 
Congress reformed welfare, American taxpayers spent $5 trillion on a 
program that had virtually no effect in reducing poverty or improving 
lives.
  Mr. Speaker, Americans want to lead productive lives. We've not only 
given the thousands of people on welfare rolls the benefit of the 
doubt, we've given them a chance. Our efforts have helped end a 
viscious cycle that trapped people into dependency. I am proud to have 
been a part of this historic effort and I commend my colleagues for 
helping to make welfare reform a reality.

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