[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 48 (Thursday, April 25, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H1624]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             WELFARE REFORM REQUIRES COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTION

  (Mr. NADLER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to ask my colleagues just 
one question. As we consider reauthorizing our Nation's welfare 
program, what do we want to accomplish, a temporary fix, or a 
comprehensive solution to poverty?
  If we truly want a comprehensive solution, we would allow TANF 
recipients to count education as a work activity so that they can move 
into living-wage jobs and not end up back on TANF 6 months after they 
leave. If we want a comprehensive solution, we would invest in quality 
child care so parents could go to work to ensure their children will be 
safe in a nurturing environment that is preparing them for success in 
school and beyond. If we want a comprehensive solution, we would 
recognize the typical immigrant worker pays $80,000 more in taxes than 
they receive in government benefits over a lifetime, and we would 
restore the safety net for them.
  We would do all of this if we wanted a comprehensive solution.
  But the Republican proposal does not embody this common sense. What 
is in their bills is a program that sets low-income people up for 
failure. Dead-end workfare jobs with no opportunity to pursue further 
education and escape is a vicious cycle of poverty.
  I challenge my colleagues to make good their election year pledges to 
help America's working families and make these improvements in TANF 
this year.

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