Rangel critiques welfare system

When Rep. Charles Rangel (D.-N.Y.) took the podium in Dodds Auditorium on Friday afternoon it was to discuss welfare in America. As the prominent congressman began his extemporaneous speech, though, it was clear he had much more on his mind.

Rangel, the ranking member of the House Committee on Ways and Means, covered a wide range of topics in his address, including the war in Iraq, the importance of voting in the upcoming midterm elections and the danger posed by America's underclass.

"Poor people are a threat to our national security," he said, eliciting applause and scattered shouts of agreement from the audience. Rangel explained that the lowest class' poor health, lack of education and growing presence in the nation's prisons end up costing the government billions of dollars and making the nation less competitive.

On the subject of welfare, he asserted that the program's management must fall under the jurisdiction of local, not federal government, and that the latter ought to serve "as a cushion" for those who cannot work due primarily to disabilities.

The way to deal with poverty, Rangel explained, is to raise children through education and prepare them to contribute on a national scale. Juxtaposing the war in Iraq — which he called a "mess" — with his visions of strengthening national security, Rangel emphasized living up to America's promise at home rather than abroad.

"I know as a fact that education really works in eliminating or alleviating poverty," he said.

Rangel was on campus as part of the daylong conference "TANF@10: A Retrospective on Welfare Reform," sponsored by the Wilson School's Policy Research Institute for the Region. The focus of the conference was the 10th anniversary of the welfare reform bill Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, otherwise known as TANF, which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996 and reauthorized in February 2006.

The institute, which aims to solve the policy problems facing New York, New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania, grew largely out of Wilson School administrators' concern that, at Princeton, there was "more research about Ghana than Newark," said Andrew Rachlin, a program associate for the group and a part of the conference's organizational team.

Responding to questions about the role of nonprofit organizations and churches in the private sector, Rangel praised such groups for their contributions but noted that it is just as important to vote as to be tax-exempt. "Economically, what are the churches doing?" he asked. If the nonprofits and churches were more vocal, Rangel said, "what a thunderous sound it would be."

Though he claimed that today is "one of the most dangerous times our country has ever faced," Rangel also said that it could become a "revolutionary period." He stressed the importance of voting, which he said is integral to being an American. "We need you at the polls," he added.