Welfare Reform Legislation Statement on Action by the House Ways and Means Committee.

I congratulate the members of the House Committee on Ways and Means for their favorable action today on welfare reform. I especially commend the leadership and diligence of Chairman Al Ullman and of Representative Jim Corman, chairman of the Public Assistance Subcommittee.

Our Nation can afford to help its most needy, and we can do so with a welfare system that encourages work, while providing decent levels of assistance for those who cannot work. Our programs can and must be simpler, more efficient, and more equitable. This bill is not the entire or the final solution, but it .does make important progress. Combined with the other half of my welfare reform package, which will expand work and training opportunities, Congress itself has a precious opportunity to make welfare reform a reality. We can help millions of people and do so in a fiscally responsible manner.

Welfare reform has been a decade-long legislative struggle, and this important action today is the most positive step in this area in recent years. I applaud the Ways and Means Committee, and urge the other key committees and the Congress as a whole to move promptly to complete action on welfare reform.