[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 146 (Wednesday, October 14, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H10839]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            WE ARE SAVING MILLIONS OF CHILDREN FROM POVERTY

  (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, one of the central planks of our Contract 
with America was real welfare reform that required work and personal 
responsibility. Three times we passed our plan that gave States wide 
latitude to reform their systems. Twice the President vetoed. Our 
friends on the left warned of dire consequences. Donna Shalala was, 
quote, visibly shaken when the President finally signed the bill. Since 
then welfare rolls have been cut by nearly 40 percent. Over 2 million 
families have moved off of welfare rolls and onto payrolls. Dependency 
and despair have been replaced with hope and opportunity. Billions of 
dollars are being saved, but, more important, we are saving millions of 
children from one more generation of poverty.
  Mr. Speaker, what a difference a Republican Congress has made.

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