[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 62 (Wednesday, May 15, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H2479]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    FAILURES ON THE PATH OF SUCCESS

  (Mr. HASTINGS of Florida asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, in the limited time that I am 
here this morning, I have heard a significant number of Members speak 
to the subject of welfare reform. In 1996, allegedly, we were supposed 
to move people from welfare to work. In the State of Florida that I 
represent, it did not work. So for all of those coming here talking 
about welfare reform being an unqualified success, let me suggest to my 
colleagues that there were some failures along the path of their 
alleged success.
  One thing needs to be understood by this body. If we do not have 
child care, no matter what we do in here with reference to welfare, it 
is not going to work. If one does not have educational benefits, if one 
does not have training for people, then what we are going to do is lead 
people into dead-end work that leads to dead-end lives.
  Enough already. We have trapped people in this program, and what we 
are preparing to do is to trap them even more and create that cycle.

                          ____________________