Sen. Brown: Welfare Helped Him But Adds To Deficit

Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown says that while he had a rough childhood including physical abuse by his stepfathers and arguments with his mother who drank, he does not consider those old memories when casting votes on government assistance programs.

The Republican acknowledged in an interview Sunday on CBS' "60 Minutes" that he and his mother benefited from welfare. But as a U.S. senator, he said, he has voted against certain government assistance programs because he has to consider economic issues. He said he believes it is critical to find a way to use the money available rather than run up the nation's deficit.

The 51-year-old Brown details his difficult youth in his book "Against All Odds," to be released Monday. He said basketball saved him from being a juvenile delinquent.