Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, I've been looking forward to today for quite some time. Today we will pass a welfare reform bill that will build upon the successes of our historic 1996 reforms. In the past 7 years I have heard numerous success stories that arose from the 1996 Welfare Reform legislation that touched the lives of millions.

Our great former president Ronald Reagan once said, ``We should measure welfare's success by how many people leave welfare, not by how many are added.''

In 1996, there were over 14 million welfare cases. Since then, however, that number has been reduced by 9 million. But this debate is about more than just numbers--it is about people. Statistics don't do justice to the smiling faces of success.

I am often asked what I consider my proudest accomplishment as a Congressman. I am extremely proud to have been a Member of the historic 105th Congress that passed the 1996 Welfare Reform Act. Perhaps more than anything else we have accomplished during my time in Washington, reforming welfare has had a positive impact on American families.

Families have achieved independence: Welfare caseloads fell by 9 million--from 14 million recipients in 1994 to just 5 million today.

Promoting work has delivered results: Employment by mothers most likely to go on welfare rose by 40 percent between 1995 and

Child poverty fell dramatically: Since 1996, nearly 3 million children have been lifted from poverty, and the black child poverty rate is now at a record low.

The success of the 1996 welfare reform law is beyond dispute. Our challenge and great opportunity now is to build on that success--by putting even more Americans on the path to self-reliance. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill, and help the most desperate in our society realize their dreams.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a man who had a tremendous impact on the country music industry, was a strong advocate for Wichita, Kansas, and was a great friend to many, including me.

Michael C. Oatman, or Ol' Mike as we all knew him, left this Earth on January 27. Although we wish he could have spent more time with us, he certainly made the most of the time that he had.

Mike was born in west Texas where he began a legendary radio career. In 1964 he moved to Wichita and built not only a radio empire but a reputation that earned him love and respect. His morning show of 36 years was popular not because of the music he played but because of the man who played the music.

Ol' Mike received just about every award a radio broadcaster could earn. All of those honors pale in comparison, though, to his final reward. Mike accepted Christ as his personal Lord and savior and now is in a much better place. And oh how I wish I could have been at those pearly gates to see St. Peter's response when he was introduced to the tee-legged, toe-legged, bee-legged, bow-legged, curly-haired, pee- williker Ol' Mike. That was Ol' Mike's radio show sign-on and was certainly as unique as the man himself.

We will miss you, Mike, but we will keep our old Hank Williams records and look you up when we join you on those streets of gold.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 17 I was unavoidably detained and missed the vote.

Had I been here I would have voted ``nay.''

Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the American Worker Temporary Relief Act, legislation which will extend for 13 weeks unemployment compensation for those Americans whose benefits expired on December 28. If enacted, this bill will enable approximately 800,000 Americans--including 6,000 laid-off workers in my state of Kansas--to begin receiving benefits again.

The American Worker Temporary Relief Act is an important step in helping our workers through these tough economic times. Many have been severely affected by a lingering recession and the economic effects of the September 11, and we, as elected representatives of the people, cannot turn our backs on them.

While this measure is important for immediate relief, I must emphasize its title, ``The American Worker Temporary Relief Act.'' Make no mistake: This is short term aid. I believe the best and most responsible approach Congress can take is to adopt policies designed to get our economy growing again. We should work to create a climate in which businesses, especially small businesses, can grow and create jobs that America needs. We should work to guarantee that hard-working Americans are able to keep more of their money to spend in our economy.

I represent the Fourth District of Kansas, which includes Wichita, the Aviation Capital of the World. In the greater Wichita area, we have had in excess of 10,000 layoffs in the aircraft manufacturing industry as a result of the downturn following the attacks on September 11, and have, by far, the highest unemployment rate of any area in the state. And while many of these laid-off workers will benefit from the bill I am introducing today, they have been unable to qualify for additional unemployment benefits available to other high unemployment states due to the relative economic health of other areas in our state.

While I am truly grateful that other parts of my state have been spared the high unemployment which is prevalent in the Wichita-area, I believe we must review the formula for determining the qualifications for more benefits when a particular area has been hard hit. In the coming weeks, I will be introducing legislation to fundamentally change the procedure for dispersing, unemployment benefits.

Under the current formula, hard-hit areas of a particular state often do not meet the ``trigger'' for unemployment benefits due to the more robust economic health of the rest of the state. This policy change, if enacted, will guarantee that unemployment assistance will not be contingent on an overall state unemployment rate, but a more localized approach designed to assist areas of greatest need.

Mr. Speaker, this change will undoubtedly take time. I look forward to working with my colleagues to correct this unjust method of measuring econonmic hardship and I will seek their support as we work to provide assistance for those areas most in need.

In the meantime, I urge my colleagues to support legislation to extend the unemployment benefits of all Americans whose assistance lapsed on December 28. Support the American Worker Temporary Relief Act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bill before us today which will provide as much as 26 weeks of additional unemployment benefits to laid off workers across America in ``high unemployment states'' and will ensure that those workers who still had benefits remaining on the December 28 cutoff date will receive all of their 13 weeks.

The Unemployment Insurance Benefits Extension Act, much like the provisions in the American Worker Temporary Relief Act that I introduced yesterday, will allow approximately 800,000 Americans, including nearly 6,000 workers in my state of Kansas, to once again begin receiving benefits. Like my bill, it also allows workers who may in the months ahead exhaust their regular 26 weeks of State unemployment benefits to become eligible for up to 13 weeks of extended benefits.

Unfortunately, this bill does nothing for those in my state and other states who have exhausted their 13 week extension and do not live in a state meeting the definition of a ``high unemployment state.''

This legislation is an important step in helping our workers through these tough economic times. Many have suffered from the lingering effects of a recession and the economic impact of the September 11th attacks.

Mr. Speaker, we must remember, however, that this is short term aid. The best and most responsible approach Congress can take is to adopt policies designed to get our economy growing again. We can all agree that America's workers would rather earn a paycheck than receive an unemployment benefit.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill and approve this new extension in order to avoid a disruption in benefits to our nation's unemployed workers.