[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 123 (Wednesday, September 16, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H7814]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             WELFARE REFORM

  (Mr. GUTKNECHT asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GUTKNECHT. Mr. Speaker, I have had the chance to visit a number 
of schools in my district. After one visit, I was surprised by one of 
the teachers who told me that she appreciated the welfare reform that 
this Congress passed back in 1996. So I asked her to tell me about 
that. And she said, well, there was this boy in her class, she said, 
let us call him Johnny. All of a sudden Johnny started to behave 
better. He had a better attitude, he was a better student. Everything 
about Johnny was better. Finally she asked Johnny, ``Is there something 
different at your house?'' And Johnny responded, ``Yeah, my dad got a 
job.''
  Mr. Speaker, a job is more than the way you earn your living. A job 
helps to define your very life. Despite what some of our liberal 
friends claim, the real purpose of welfare reform was not so much to 
save money. It was about saving people. It was about saving families. 
It was about saving children from one more generation of poverty, 
dependency and despair. It has certainly made a difference in Johnny's 
life.
  Mr. Speaker, what a difference a Republican Congress has made.

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