Clinton Says He'll Sign Welfare Reform Bill

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, July 31) -- President Bill Clinton, signaling the biggest change in federal social policy in 60 years, said today he will sign a welfare reform bill that imposes time limits and work requirements on people who receive public assistance. (320K WAV sound)

At a White House briefing, Clinton called the legislation "far from perfect," but said it represents an historic opportunity to transform "a broken system that traps too many people in a cycle of dependence, to one that emphasizes work and independence." (256K WAV sound)

The measure was approved by the House on a 328-101 vote about two hours after Clinton spoke, and a Senate vote is expected Thursday.

The legislation would set a lifetime limit of five years for families receiving benefits and require able-bodied welfare recipients to go to work after two years.

It also would deny benefits to non-citizens, even people in the United States legally -- a key Clinton objection -- and would transfer much of the decision-making on welfare policy to the states.

Clinton said unlike previous Republican bills that he vetoed, the bipartisan package incorporates most of his requirements for true welfare reform, including time limits on assistance, child care and health care to help people as they go to work and child nutrition programs. The previous bills were "soft on work and tough on children," he said. (352K WAV sound)

"We've come a long way in this debate," Clinton told reporters. "It's important to remember that not so very long ago, at the beginning of this very Congress, some wanted to put poor children in orphanages and take away all help from mothers simply because they were poor, young and unmarried." (192K WAV sound)

Clinton said he was "deeply disappointed," however, that the measure would deny benefits to legal immigrants. He warned that would hurt states, cities and hospitals that serve large legal immigrant populations.

"I am convinced this would never have passed alone," Clinton said.

Clinton said he did not think his decision would be perceived as being dragged along on a Republican initiative, as one reporter suggested. "If we're doing the right thing, they'll be enough credit to go around," he said.

Clinton encouraged states not to run away from their new responsibilities and to earmark money they now spend on welfare for employment subsidies to create new jobs.

"You can't tell people to go to work if there are no jobs out there," he said.

The president had planned to take the day off, but after a House-Senate conference committee worked out a final compromise on Tuesday, he called his advisors together this morning for a 2 1/2-hour session to debate whether to sign the legislation or veto it.

Clinton said there was "significant disagreement" among his staff about what to do.

The discussion was almost entirely on the merits of the legislation, the president said, not the political impact in this election year. However, the politics of his decision almost surely will work in the president's favor.

Clinton campaigned four years ago promising to "end welfare as we know it," and he had come under persistent GOP criticism for vetoing the two previous welfare reform packages that he considered too harsh.

Signing the bill will allow Clinton to say he finally made good on his promise. It also permits the president, sometimes dubbed the "Co-Opter-in-Chief" for his skill at borrowing Republican rhetoric, to take yet another issue away from his Republican rival Robert Dole.

Dole quickly issued a statement, praising the president for "finally climbing on board the Dole welfare reform proposal."

Other Republican leaders, including House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Rep. John Kasich (R-Ohio) and Rep. Susan Molinari (R-N.Y.), applauded the prospect of finally passing national welfare reform.

Some liberal Democrats are concerned the bill shreds the safety net for poor children, and Clinton's decision probably will be unpopular among some delegates next month at the national convention in Chicago.

Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.), an opponent of the measure, issued a terse statement on Clinton's decision to sign the welfare bill: "The president has made his decision. Let us hope that it is for the best."

Clinton Says He'll Sign Welfare Reform Bill

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