REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D-TX): So the safety net has to be something for all of us. And as I borrow this from my good friend from California, just to show you a line of Americans possibly looking for work, we cannot point out and we cannot know at this point which one of these are near the edge of poverty or living in poverty simply because they cannot find work.



So, it is important to note that there are elements that many discard, the earned income tax credit, supplemental nutrition program, the huge job training and educational investment that President Johnson made on the war on poverty. Medicare and Medicaid. Huge safety nets, not handouts, but safety nets. Maybe the word welfare should be changed to something of a transitional living fund. For that is what it is, for people to be able to live.