[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5296]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             WELFARE REFORM

  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring a little good news to 
the floor this morning on the subject of welfare reform. When the 1996 
welfare reform bill was debated in Congress, scholars across this 
country, legislators at the State and Federal level, in the Senate and 
the House alike, predicted that a welfare system which demanded work, 
imposed sanctions, and operated under time restrictions would result in 
huge declines in family income. One Member of Congress went so far as 
to say that the 1996 legislation was, quote, the most brutal act of 
social policy since reconstruction, end quote.
  Well, Mr. Speaker, we now have the benefit of time and we have the 
benefit of the U.S. Census Bureau data on family income and poverty for 
the year 2000, thereby allowing informed judgments in the debate on 
welfare reform and, of course, its benefits to the poor. This new data 
suggests great strides have been made since 1996. For the seventh year 
in a row, poverty is down. Even more, African American and Hispanic 
households had their lowest poverty rates ever. And the overall child 
poverty rate was lower than in any year since 1976.
  During the debate in 1996, the Urban Institute predicted that if this 
bill was enacted, the 1996 reforms would cast another 1 million 
children into poverty. Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, nearly 3 million 
children have been lifted out of poverty since 1996. The African 
American child poverty rate and the poverty rate for children living 
with single mothers are both at their lowest points in United States 
history. In fact, child poverty has declined more than twice as much 
during the economic recovery of the 1990s as it did during the economic 
recovery of the 1980s.
  Welfare reform has removed the ``expectation-less'' public safety net 
that served more as a hindrance than a motivational tool. As required 
by the 1996 law, States have overhauled their work requirements. As a 
result, in fiscal year 2000, the percentage of working welfare 
recipients reached an all-time high, up to 33 percent from 11 percent 
in 1996. The poorest 40 percent of single-mother families increased 
their earnings by about $2,300 per family on average between 1995 and 
1999. Many single mothers leaving welfare told researchers and 
reporters that not only were their children proud of their work, and 
she was proud of them, but they felt pride in their accomplishments as 
well.
  Welfare reform has positively affected both the recipient and well-
intentioned yet often misguided programs. Program leaders have realized 
that offering material goods and money is no substitute for personal 
engagement, instruction, and mentoring. The previous welfare system 
unintentionally engendered dependency and encouraged irresponsibility. 
Today's welfare-to-work mentoring programs are established to reach 
impoverished city residents beyond just monetary support. It is a way 
of recapturing a commitment to others.
  While social welfare policies primarily affect various individual aid 
recipients, they also affect the families of the working poor, the 
governmental agencies administering welfare programs, and institutions 
of civil society, including social service nonprofit organizations. 
However, welfare reform's most profound influence is seen in its effect 
on our families. Reform is assisting parents in becoming responsible 
role models. The resulting positive influence for the children is 
immeasurable.
  Mr. Speaker, the critics were wrong. Millions of families have been 
lifted from poverty by trading their welfare check for a paycheck. As 
we begin to reauthorize the welfare programs enacted in 1996, let our 
vision for independence rather than dependence be maintained. Surely we 
have seen a revolution in how government addresses the needs of the 
poor through assistance and empowerment. However, the real success 
belongs to the individual who took responsibility for themselves and 
their families.

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