Capitol Words a project of the Sunlight Foundation

Rep. Ted Poe

Mr. Speaker, on Monday, I visited Hargrave High School in Huffman, Texas. Students at this school come from hardworking, rural, lower-middle class families. I met with 400 seniors, and almost every one of them had a job. I was impressed by their intelligent questions about government and the state of this country.

One student, Karina Garduno, asked me this:

Why should those of us that work hard have to sacrifice our tax dollars for free handouts to potheads and others that are too lazy to work? This has nothing to do with being black, brown or white, because I'm Hispanic. They should be made to try harder to find work and submit to drug testing to qualify for this money.

Mr. Speaker, Karina and several other students remember the concept many people have forgotten--personal responsibility. The American Dream means that if you work hard, you can do anything in this country. And it's the individual, not the Federal Government, who controls our future. Young people must know that hard work still pays off because it is the American way.

And that's just the way it is.