Date: 1997-05-06
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. . last Friday. Dr. Mike McKinney. head of the Texas Department of Health and Human Services. traveled to Washington. He had been invited by the Clinton administration to discuss - a compromise to allow Texas to move forward with its welfare reform plan. It hasbeen 10 months since the administration promised Texas an answer. So everyone tlought. They were ready to bring to the table a proposal that would give Texas the ability to move 4orward andstart implementing its welfare reforms. -We were dead wrong. After a 21h hour meeting with Clinton officials. Dr. McKinney left the meeting empty handed. The meeting was a charade. a scam. a total waste of time. This just provesthat the administration has no intention of ever granting Texas the authority to make reasonable changes to its welfare system. The administration could care less about the parents and children who would benefit from these bold and innovative proposals. They only care about elections. money. labor. and power. The President has lost sight of what the welfare bill he signed is all about. It is about flexibility. State control. and helping lift welfare recipients out of poverty into work and prosperity. It is for our children. Now the Presidents Deputy Secretary of HHS. Kevin Thrum. said that the Texas plan violates certain Federal Law. lacks credibility. I guess the Secretary herself is unwilling to face the issue. The statement clearly contradicts an April 4th memo to the President from his boss. the Secretary of HHS. the Secretary of Agriculture. and the chief domestic policy adviser which allowed Texas far more leeway and discretion than he described. It is simply amazing the political games that the administration is playing with the lives of welfare recipients and their children. The State of Texas simply wants to enter into a publicprivate partnership to streamline. integrate. and consolidate its welfare system into a onestop center to help recipients and children receive benefits. It has been estimated that this plan would save the Texas taxpayers over $10 million a month or $120 million a year. That is enough money to provide health care to an additional 150.000 children in Texas each year. The administrations latest actions also continue to support the reported news accounts that the White House is beholden to the big labor union bosses. It seems that they own the White House. Their continued control of the President -denies Texas the ability to help the poor and needy escape poverty. The control is spelled out in plain English in the April 4th memo where a chart was drawn that lists three options. The first is the Texas proposal. The second is the union proposal. The third is a proposed administration compromise. I wasnt awareand Im sure most Amercans are not aware---that the welfare reform package signed by President Clinton called for union approval of welfare reform proposals. Let me state once again. if the administration continues to put the unions political agenda above the real concerns of the citizens of Texas. we will not hesitate. in both the House and Senate. to go forward with legislation to give Texas the approval it deserves. Mr. Speaker. it is time for the President to do whats right. Our States are our most valued resource. Texas and any other State should have immediate approval so they can make welfare reform real and help the children and the needy families of America. The. SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House. the gentleman from Texas is recognized for 5 minutes.