TANF Emergency Response and Recovery Act of 2005

Floor Speech

TANF EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND RECOVERY ACT OF 2005 -- (House of Representatives - September 08, 2005)

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Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Committee on Ways and Means and all of those who helped to move this bill to the floor. This is very important, but it is but a beginning by our government in an attempt to meet the needs of this awesome disaster. More must be done, and I am hopeful that everybody understands that we have got to keep working.

I have traveled to these shelters in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Alexandria, Opelousas, and New Iberia; and I ran into many of these welfare recipients, who, of course, as the Members know, live day to day and did not have money at the end of the month oftentimes, and they are really frightened. They do not know what is going to happen to them. And this will help. This will help with some cash assistance.

But I want the Members to know there are a lot of other questions about what is going to happen to them, for example, those who would be rolling off welfare because they are at the fifth year. That is not addressed here. Some other things are not addressed.

Again, I am very grateful for this. I am going to support it. But I will certainly be here helping to provide another voice to say that there is more that must be done. Mr. Speaker, as we do this, let us all remember that they are in these shelters. Some people are living with 5,000 other people. We have got to get them out, welfare recipients and other people who are there. This work is awesome, but we can do it.

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