U.S. Senate Liberals Resist Welfare Reform Bill
by Bill Fancher and Mary Rettig
April 12, 2004
(AgapePress) - President George W. Bush is pushing for the reauthorization of the Welfare Reform Bill because he has made it the key to accomplishing several of his goals. However, Senate Democrats are opposed to the measure and, to prevent its passage, have reverted to using the same weapon they have used to block the confirmation of pro-life federal judges -- the filibuster.Department of Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary Wade Horn says Bush is putting lots of important eggs in one basket with the re-authorization bill. He says the president "feels very strongly" that the next phase of welfare reform should be about two things: "decreasing poverty by greater encouraging of full-time as opposed to part-time work from those who are leaving welfare" and "improving the well-being of children."
The Assistant Secretary notes that one of the key elements of the legislation is the Healthy Marriage Initiative, which will provide marriage and family services to low-income families so that "they can achieve what they say they want for themselves -- a lifelong, healthy, and stable marriage." He says the president believes making counseling services available to low-income families will encourage unmarried parents to marry, lift them from poverty, and make them, their children, and the nation much stronger.
"And anybody who opposes this," Horn adds, "will have to explain to those low-income couples why they want to stand in the doorway and deny that couple access to those kinds of services."
However, Democrats in the U.S. Senate continue to oppose the bill. Thus far, liberal senators have fought off every attempt to end the filibuster and allow a vote on the legislation.
The Healthy Marriage Initiative is an effort to meet the original goals of welfare reform by reducing the financial penalties against marriage contained in current federal welfare programs, while at the same time offering individuals and couples with marriage-building information and resources. This would include providing accurate information on the value of marriage, and offering marital relationship-skills education to help couples reduce conflict and increase the quality and longevity of their marriages.
The president of a pro-marriage group says the results of a recent study show that couples' mentoring, pre-marriage counseling and other marriage-preparatory or marriage-building programs are vital in helping engaged or newlywed couples protect their relationships. The study showed that after seven years, communities with a "Community Marriage Policy" incorporating such programs saw a nearly 18 percent decline in the divorce rate, while the control group saw a drop of only about half that percentage.
Mike McManus, president of Marriage Savers, says his own church implemented a marriage mentoring program and saw dramatic results. "Couples actually need to learn skills to help them resolve conflict. They need to do practical things like prepare a budget. They need to learn from older couples whose marriages have thrived how to make a thriving marriage. The mentoring process we've created creates those opportunities," he says.
The pro-marriage ministry leader notes that for a ten\-year period, 300 couples signed up for the church's marriage preparation course. Out of that number, more than 50 couples made the decision not to marry. But of those that did decide to go down the aisle, McManus says, only seven couples have divorced since 1992.
"We make young couples jump through a number of hoops, but if they do, they're going to have the legs that can go the distance," McManus says. Marriage Savers' president adds that the spiritual aspect of the marriage relationship is important, but teaching young couples to deal with and resolve conflict is just as important.
