Andrea Sheldon

Andrea Sheldon is the director of government affairs for the Traditional Values Coalition, an organization of churches that seeks to protect family, church, and biblical moral values. The following viewpoint is excerpted from testimony Sheldon gave before a House subcommittee on welfare reform and the causes of poverty. She argues that out-of-wedlock births create a cycle of material poverty. Illegitimacy causes poverty because children born into single-parent households are more likely to become unwed parents and develop a dependence on government welfare, Sheldon asserts. She maintains that the federal government should seek to reduce illegitimacy through welfare reform. On August 22, 1996, President Bill Clinton signed a welfare reform bill that set lifetime limits on benefits but did not deny cash assistance to out-of-wedlock births.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What proportion of children...