Walter Jones

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. I thank the gentleman. Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege and a pleasure for me to also welcome Father John today, a man that I have great respect for, a man who loves his people, loves his country, and loves his Lord.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, our Founding Fathers while drafting the Constitution provided a simple but decisive and important process for the American people to properly amend the Constitution. Through the years, our country has adopted important amendments to improve the public's role; such as the right to vote. Now, it is time to continue the process with term limits. Over 75 percent of the American public believe they deserve the right to personally vote on term limits. Anyone who sits in this Congress who disagrees with giving the citizens of this country a chance to vote on this very popular and important issue, in my opinion, shows no confidence in the people which elected them. I strongly believe that if any elected official cannot put aside their own self-interests for the good of the American people, then maybe they have been inside the beltway too long.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, the average American family has spent over $50,000 in taxes on the war on poverty since 1965. This is an obscene amount of money, especially since it has gone to an unsuccessful cause. We must reduce this heavy burden which has been placed on the working family. The Republican welfare proposal will save the American people approximately $60 billion over a 5-year period. The savings will go to deficit reduction reduces taxes for the American people. States will have authority to design their own programs to lift the poor out of poverty and to give them hope for the future. We can not deny this opportunity for the citizens of this country. Let us join forces to pass this pro-country, pro-responsibility, and pro-family legislation.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, we must remember that the American people sent us to Washington to downsize and streamline the Federal Government. Working people have consistently paid more taxes each year to combat the war on poverty--which we are losing. The current system offers benefits to a record 14.3 million people, a 31-percent increase from 1989, which costs taxpayers $325 billion. Our proposal will save taxpayers $66.3 billion over 5 years by streamlining the administrative end and transferring authority over to the States. This outdated and bureaucratic-laden system subsidizes illegitimacy, breaks up families, and promotes personally destructive behavior. Let us continue fighting for the taxpayers of America and pass this much needed welfare reform bill.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the debate on both sides as it relates to the nutrition program. I wanted to touch on welfare and the need for welfare, but first I have to make these comments as a former Democrat, that today I was interviewed by the Washington Post wanting to know why in the State of North Carolina that we went from 8 Democratic Congressmen, four Republicans to four Republican Congressmen and four--excuse me, eight Republican Congressmen and four Democrats. The whole purpose is simply because the new minority party was out of touch with the middle-class working American. People in America are paying, the working family will spend half of what it makes on paying taxes and actually spend more on paying taxes than it will spend on clothing, housing and food. And this debate tonight about children is extremely important, and on our side we believe we are doing what is right for children. I can tell the other side, after hearing the debate today and yesterday, that the American people are ready for downsizing Government. They are ready to see efficiency in programs. They are ready to see less taxes coming out of their paycheck. That is what I think the Republican party has done. Let me talk just briefly, I know my time is short, about the facts on welfare. Since the 1960s, Washington has spent approximately $5 trillion of taxpayers' money on the war on poverty. It is the most expensive war our Nation has ever waged, and it is a war we have lost. The amount we spend in a year on welfare is roughly three times the amount needed to raise the incomes of all poor Americans above the poverty income threshold. Nearly 65 percent of the people on welfare at any given time would be in the welfare system for 8 years or longer. A record 14.3 million people now receive welfare benefits, a 31 percent increase since 1989. Funding for welfare programs is estimated to increase from $325 billion in 1993 to $500 billion in 1998. My colleagues, the people of America are demanding welfare reform. We can debate as we should debate, being a democracy, but when we really come down to it, the working people of America are tired and fed up of seeing obligation to pass welfare reform.

Mr. JONES. Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Pelosi].

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Greenwood].

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, we have spent more than $5 trillion to fight the war on poverty, the most expensive war America has ever fought which we are losing. The current system traps individuals in a cycle of dependency and no hope for the future. Nearly 65 percent of the people on welfare at any given time will receive benefits for 8 years or longer. The amount we spend in 1 year on welfare is roughly 3 times the amount needed to raise the incomes of all poor Americans above the poverty threshold. The misuse of the taxpayer's money must end. As elected officials, we have the responsibility to create a better and more efficient system which in turn offers a temporary helping hand to individuals. Our proposal is based on the dignity of work and the strength of the family which moves solutions closer to home and offers hope for the future. Let us work together to pass a bill that offers an opportunity to a bright and productive future instead of one of dependency.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, the Liberals continue to exploit the hard work and innovative ideas of the Republican Party. The latest assault is our welfare proposal. They claim it is unfair to children, mothers, and other recipients. Wrong. What we are doing, is cleaning up a system, which has spun out-of-control for years. Spending for this bureaucratic-laden system has the country approximately $500 billion in 1998. Instead, our proposal moves in the opposite direction. It saves the taxpayer approximately $60 billion over 5 years. Under the plan, people who honestly need a helping hand will be given job training and education to rejoin the work force. The current welfare state has been the families downfall. Our plan will remedy this, we will offer incentives adding up to 10 percent to States which successfully reduce illegitimacy rates. Let us work together, to create a system, which restores pride and opportunity for the American people.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, our Contract With America states the following: on the first day of Congress, a Republican House will require Congress to live under the same laws as everyone else; cut committee staffs by one-third; and cut the Congressional budget. We kept our promise. It continues that in the first 100 days, we will vote on the following items: A balanced budget amendment--we kept our promise; unfunded mandates legislation--we kept our promise; line-item veto--we kept our promise; a new crime package to stop violent criminals--we kept our promise; national security restoration to protect our freedoms--we kept our promise; Government regulatory reform--we kept our promise; commonsense legal reform to end frivolous lawsuits--we kept our promise; welfare reform to encourage work, not dependence; family reinforcement to crack down on deadbeat dads and protect our children; tax cuts for middle-income families; Senior Citizens' Equity Act to allow our seniors to work without Government penalty, and Congressional term limits to make Congress a citizen legislature. This is our Contract With America.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Chairman, the fiscal year 1995 rescissions bill cuts approximately $206 million from the Department of Veterans Affairs. The money will be taken from the Veterans Health Administration, which provides important services to our Nation's veterans. American veteran's have earned their health care through blood and sacrifice and deserve better. Mr. Speaker, our Nation's veterans should be honored for their heroic deeds, not punished. How can we expect the military to protect us when we don't honor the contract we made with our veterans? I support the Stump amendment which would restore the $206 million to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I have come to the floor of the House to confront my Democratic colleagues who seem more intent on distortions, regarding the future of the School Lunch Program, rather than promoting the health and safety of our Nation's most precious asset--our children. I hope these individuals abandon hollow political rhetoric and tell the American public the truth. The Republican plan is growing school meals by 4.5 percent. Tell the American people the truth. By the year 2000, we will be spending $1 billion more on school lunches than today. Tell the American public the truth, Republicans are cutting out Federal bureaucrats and bringing school lunches closer to home. the Democrats end this partisan charade and tell the truth about the Republican school lunch proposal--increased funding, more meals for the children who need them, and fewer Federal bureaucrats micromanaging our lives.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, families are the core of American society. Families are the principle mechanism through which values, knowledge, and discipline is passed from one generation to the next. Why must working families suffer at the hands of the Government and its irresponsible spending habits? Families are required to pay more each year in taxes to support the failed welfare state and other failed programs. To put an end to this tax and spend mentality, we have unveiled a tax relief plan that is pro-family and pro-economic growth. In fact, an additional $20 will go into each family's pocket for every dollar that is given to the Government. More exactly, 76 percent of the tax reductions, will go directly to families. Also, we have included a tax relief provision for small businesses and for future investment. These provisions incorporated with the contract will benefit families while getting the country back on track.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, during the past 30 years, the Government has tried solving the problems of the poor. The Government has invested over $5 trillion to create a better life for the needy while in reality, this outdated and bureaucratic-laden system has encouraged a destructive social behavior in recipients, including an ever increasing illegitimacy rate. Since 1965, the average household has spent $50,000 families who receive benefits only 20,000 people work. As members of Congress, we have the responsibility to end this cycle of dependency. The Republican proposal will do just that. We will merge four cash welfare programs into one block grant to the States, saving the taxpayer $5.6 billion. Under this block grant, States will gain greater responsibility in administering the program and more flexibility to be innovative in combating poverty and welfare. We will continue to create programs to restore the power of the States and to return the American dream to everyday people.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, the defenders of the old order have been telling us for weeks how much they want to help the children. But their idea of helping children is expanding a welfare system that has proven to be a failure--especially for children. Consider this recent poll result. When asked, ``do you think children are generally better off today or worse off than when you were a child,'' 60 percent of all Americans--and 77 percent of black Americans--said children today, were worse off. All you have to do is look around to see that the people are right. And the welfare system is a large part of the reason why. So why do the Democrats fight so hard to save a failed system? I think it has a lot to do with the poverty industry that has grown up around the Democratic Party. The Democrat Party may need poverty, but America does not. It is time to act, Mr. Speaker. It is time to change a failed system that has done irreparable harm to America's children.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, it is time to tell the truth about our welfare system. It is not the system that it was designed to be. It is not temporary help for those who are down on their luck. It is a bureaucratic nightmare that has trapped generations of Americans into a cycle of dependency. It is no secret that the welfare system has failed miserably. It does not provide a hand up. It is nothing more than a handout. Americans across the country, including those who receive welfare, are sick of the failed system. We should face the problem and fix the system. Republicans have offered serious proposals to reform welfare, but those on the other side of the aisle are offering nothing more than distortion in a desperate attempt to defend a failed system. That is not what the American people elected us to do. They elected us to fix a broken system. It is time to reform the welfare system.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained for rollcall No. 194. Had I been here, I would have voted ``no.'' I ask that the Record reflect that. limitation of debate on prospective amendments

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, the Democrats portray us as a cold, callous, and insensitive group. How can someone truthfully claim that? In the past 58 days, we have done more to ensure a brighter future for the citizens of this country and especially the children. We have worked night and day to pass a comprehensive crime package, a slew of regulatory reform bills, a balanced budget amendment, and unfunded mandate reform with the intention of getting the Government back on track by transferring authority to State governments. We have increased funding and have allowed greater growth for the School Lunch Program than in past years. We are conscious of the need to protect our children from an ever increasing crime rate and a debt-ridden Government, while in turn creating a comfortable and productive environment for them to learn. We will continue to work hard by passing commonsense legislation for the benefit of our prized and most important resource--our children.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, amid the cry from liberal Democrats regarding Republican welfare reform comes one clear message: The liberals are fighting hard for the bureaucratic status quo. Instead of joining with reformers who want to make current programs more efficient, more effective, and more fair, liberals prefer to make baseless attacks on Republicans. The liberals claim that our proposals would hurt children. Several studies have proven that our block-grant initiatives will cut a layer of bureaucracy while delivering more services for those in need. The liberals are instead defending a group of bureaucrats who waste the taxpayer's money and drain precious resources from our Nation. Someone once said: If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. Clearly, defenders of the status quo are part of the problem that most Americans thought they solved in the last election.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, finally, the truth has prevailed. For the past week, House Republicans have been accused of not caring for children and for future American generations. Opponents believe that we are going to dismantle the Federal School Lunch Program. That is simply not true. We realize that children are better able to learn when fed a nutritious meal on a regular basis. Under our proposal, the program will grow by 4.5 percent, and in the current budget year we will spend $4.7 billion, yet another increase for children. Since January, we have been busy passing a balanced budget amendment, a line-item veto, and even a new and improved crime package for the benefit of our children. In the coming weeks, we will work on a welfare reform package, a commonsense legal reform measure, and finish streamlining the Federal regulatory maze. We will continue to create a brighter future for our country's most important resource--our children.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, while home over the weekend, numerous people shared their hope and anticipation in the passage of the balanced budget amendment. These people understand the need for this legislation since their share of the national debt exceeds $13,000. The debt now stands at over $4.5 trillion and it has been 25 years since the Federal Government has endorsed a fiscal year surplus. My constituents and constituents nationwide want a balanced budget amendment because it denies the Federal Government from spending more than it takes in. It ensures that the Federal Government lives by the same rules as families, businesses, and local governments, and it restores fiscal sanity and common sense to Washington. As elected officials, it is our duty to work for passage of this legislation. This commonsense approach to changing business as usual is the right thing to do for future generations. My fellow Members, it is my hope that this amendment passes for the sake of the American people.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. If I may, the gentleman from Arizona, just briefly, as you and the gentleman from Georgia are talking about overregulations and bureaucracies and this type of situation, let me, I happen to serve on the Resources Committee under the leadership of Chairman Don Young, and we this spring are going to be revisiting the wetlands laws and the Endangered Species Act because the bureaucrats, if you will, have taken these regulations and these acts and have extended it to interpret it as they see fit. What we need to do, as you and the gentleman from Georgia are saying, we have to bring a balance between business and the environmentalists. We have to bring a balance, because obviously the regulations have gone too far, created too many problems for business owners, property owners and business itself. So again, this is part of the Republican majority. We are going to make the changes that can bring the balance that I think would be great for this Nation.

Mr. JONES. Very briefly on term limits, as you might or might not know, my father served here for 26 years. A few years ago we had on the back porch of his house a very nice discussion about my belief in term limits, and he made the comment to me at that time, he said, ``Son, I didn't do a very good job of raising you.'' Of course, he had been here again for 26 years, but I am a strong proponent of term limits, and I hope that both sides, as you feel strongly about term limits apparently, that we will gather the 290 votes that we need to pass this part of the Contract With America, because the American people throughout every poll that I have seen for the last year and a half, and I used to be in the North Carolina General Assembly; I served for 10 years; the people of America want the right to see term limits come to the Congress of the United States. I hope that both sides in a bipartisan way will come together and work together to get the 290 votes, because we apparently right now, the gentleman from Arizona, it is my understanding we are anywhere from 30 to 40 short.

Mr. JONES. Just to add to your comments, because today at the news conference celebrating the end of the first 50 days, I do not think I have ever heard a more meaningful talk than the lady who had been raped from Ohio and how much she supported and felt that the legislation that we passed with this tough crime bill, how much it would help other people throughout America. And I thought that what she shared with us and the press being there today made us all realize the importance of what we had done to help protect America. I just thought that was a very special event this morning. because of her situation and understanding that indeed the notion of jurisprudence and the notion of criminal justice in this society over the last 30 years, in working so hard with this document, the Constitution of the United States, to preserve the rights of the accused, one unintended byproduct was a swing of the pendulum in a direction where hardened criminals could use technicalities, could try and trample upon the Constitution, and, in my humble opinion, to try and take away the legitimate rights of victims of crime. So this Congress, again, is not radical, it is reasonable, recognizing that the pendulum needs to be dead center; that we have to respect individual rights and the rights of the accused, but just as the lady from Ohio told us, we can never have those rights come at the sacrifice of the law-abiding and those who are victimized by crime in our society.

Mr. JONES. I could not agree more with what the gentlemen have said. I helping those on welfare get off welfare and become productive citizens than the Speaker of this House, Newt Gingrich. He has spoken so many times about helping people have that opportunity to better themselves and to become productive citizens. But as you have stated and we all know, the system that has been in place for 30 years has perpetuated itself to help keep people down in back. What we want to do, we want to see welfare become a trampoline, not be a hammock. We want to see people have an opportunity to join the productive work force of America. That is what the Republican party stands for and that is what our welfare legislation would be about, helping people get off welfare.