[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 19284-19285]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                     PRESIDENT IS REWRITING HISTORY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DeLAY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to set the record straight. 
The President of the United States was in Chicago today taking all 
kinds of credit for the successes of the Welfare Reform Act that was 
passed by this Congress and signed by the President.
  This President has taken a lot of credit for a lot of things over the 
last few years, particularly over the years that the Republicans had 
maintained a majority of this Congress. Frankly, Madam Speaker, I have 
had just enough.
  This President, Madam Speaker, has not initiated one thing, one piece 
of legislation that he takes credit for.

                              {time}  2230

  I will grant him that he finally signed many of the pieces of the 
legislation, but he has not lifted one finger to pass any of this 
legislation that he takes credit for through this Congress.
  There should be no mistake about it, the well-documented success of 
welfare reform is the work of the Republican majority in this Congress. 
Back in 1994, Republicans campaigned on a plan that included 
comprehensive welfare reform. The Contract With America put Republicans 
in control of Congress, and we delivered on our agenda.
  History should not be rewritten. The President and the Democrats in 
Congress fought Republicans tooth and

[[Page 19285]]

nail on welfare reform. And, frankly, Madam Speaker, the debate was not 
very civil. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle charged that 
Republicans wanted to kick desperate people out on the street to fend 
for themselves. Our opponents on welfare reform screamed that the 
Republicans would be responsible for countless starving people in this 
country. Our opponents maintained that reforming welfare would create 
an unmitigated social disaster.
  Well, it is time to set the record straight. Americans are not 
starving due to the Republican insistence for welfare reform. Americans 
are not sleeping on park benches due to Republican insistence on 
welfare reform. And without question, there have been no social 
upheavals of any kind as a result of the Republicans' insistence to 
reform welfare.
  In fact, quite the opposite is true. The results of Republican 
welfare reform have been so incredible that President Clinton has 
typically been taking credit for the success, despite the fact that he 
vetoed welfare reform twice before reluctantly signing it into law. 
That is right, President Clinton vetoed welfare reform not once but 
twice, and now he is trumpeting the success on his own and traveling 
around the country claiming all this success as being his success, his 
idea, his initiative.
  Well, this tactic is nothing new. We are used to it. We have been 
used to it for 4\1/2\ years now. Republicans are accustomed to working 
hard to initiate commonsense reforms that the Democrats oppose only to 
watch Democrats adopt these ideas after they succeed. Democrats even 
tried to take credit for the budget surplus, even though everyone knows 
that it was the Republicans in Congress who rammed the balanced budget 
agreement through 2 years ago.
  But the American people know better. The American people understand 
what separates the Republican philosophy from the Democrat philosophy. 
The Republican philosophy wants the government to do more with less. 
The Republican philosophy seeks to empower communities with more local 
control by freeing them from the restraints of big government spending 
in Washington. And the Republican philosophy places ultimate trust in 
the individual, who, in most cases, will succeed if he is cut free from 
the chain of dependence.
  This stands in stark contrast to the big government philosophy of the 
liberal Democrats. They do not trust the strength and dedication of the 
average American. The Democrats do not think that individuals can 
succeed without the government holding their hands all throughout their 
life.
  Well, the record speaks for itself, Madam Speaker. In the 3 years 
since welfare reform was passed, over 12 million Americans have moved 
from welfare to work. That is 12 million Americans who have moved from 
dependency and despondency to independence and dignity.
  By December of last year, welfare rolls had dropped by 45 percent. 
And that is a national average. Many of the States have much higher 
success rates. For example, caseloads are down by 81 percent in Idaho 
and over 70 percent in Wisconsin. And this is very important. Child 
poverty rates and overall poverty rates have declined every year since 
welfare was reformed. Beyond any doubt, these facts show that hope for 
those on welfare is found in more personal responsibility not more 
government bureaucracy.
  So, Madam Speaker, the spirit of the American people is based on the 
freedom that comes from hard work and combating the odds. From the 
beginning of this Nation, Americans of all walks of life have fought 
uphill battles and won. The Republicans in Congress believe in the 
American spirit, and that is why we fought so hard to reform welfare 
reform and we should have the credit.
  The President has no right to take credit. When the going gets tough, 
the tough get going, and the Republican Congress is responsible for 
welfare reform, not the President of the United States.

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