April 9, 1991 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS 7739 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS EDUCATION: THE KEY TO tasks in order to collect their welfare wagon, and make it the cornerstone of a new OPPORTUNITY checks. Certainly, requiring the poor to rake War Against Poverty. This time, though, in­ leaves in public parks is preferable to allow­ stead of having the government bureaucracy ing them to stay home all day and watch tel­ fight poverty, we should give the poor, them­ HON. ~.S.BROOMFH[D evision. Yet, workfare programs still do not selves, the weapons to fight their own bat­ OF MICHIGAN provide the poor with the maximum oppor­ tles individually. And the Patriot missile of IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES tunity for economic advancement. the new War Against Poverty would be a Let's face it, a poor man isn't going to sup­ high school education. Tuesday, April9, 1991 port himself in the private sector raking Mr. BROOMFIELD. Mr. Speaker, in Detroit leaves or picking up litter along the high­ and other inner cities around the country, our way. These skills are simply not marketable A CONGRESSIONAL SALUTE TO current welfare program has shown more suc­ to employers. A better version of workfare HENRY "HANK" BERNAT cess in maintaining the cycle of poverty than allows participants in the program to sub­ stitute job-training for actual work. These in breaking it. trainees, then, have a much better chance of HON. GLENN M. ANDERSON Matthew Berry, a bright young constituent of finding a real job and moving off the public OF CALIFORNIA mine who is a freshman at Dartmouth, put his dole. Unfortunately, job-training workfare IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES finger on the key to breaking the cycle-edu­ programs still have one major drawback. Tuesday, April9, 1991 cation. America is the land of opportunity, but Participants' chances of finding a steady job without education many Americans continue to are still somewhat limited, as they are really Mr. ANDERSON. Mr. Speaker, even in Cali­ find opportunity's door slammed in their faces. only qualified for one line of work. fornia, we sometimes hear of the accomplish­ The time has come to embrace innovative The best welfare reform program offered to ments of special individuals in far away date is the brainchild of Wisconsin's Repub­ new approaches that unlock the door to op­ places. Recently, my friend, Dick Sim of Irvine, lican Gov. Tommy Thompson. This program, CA, informed me of just such an extraordinary portunity instead of perpetuating generation called Learnfare, requires that teenagers in upon generation of welfare recipients. One person, Mr. Henry "Hank" Bernat, who retired families collecting public assistance go to late last year after 31 years as the football such approach is the Learnfare program, high school until they earn their diploma. which Mr. Berry discusses in the following arti­ Learnfare makes so much sense that it coach at Owen J. Roberts High School in cle, which I commend to my colleagues. should be expanded and implemented nation­ Bucktown, PA. Hank, who truly is one of America's "points [From The Dartmouth, Feb. 12, 1991] wide. A place on the public dole is not a God­ of light," selflessly dedicated himself not just EDUCATION CAN HELP THE POOR given right and should not be granted uncon­ to the game of football, but, more importantly, (By Matthew Berry, '94) ditionally. If we are going to financially sup­ to the students and athletes themselves. He Upon receiving her high school diploma, port able-bodied men and women, then the was, however, not only a highly successful pop music star and noted philosopher Cyndi least we should demand is that their children motivator on the gridiron, but was a leader in · Lauper remarked, "The more you learn, the go to school. A high school dropout is much more you earn." While I honestly doubt how more likely than a high school graduate to the field of education and will continue to be much Lauper learned in high school, her follow his parents onto the welfare roll. Also, an influential me