[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992, Book I)]
[April 11, 1992]
[Pages 592-593]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Radio Address to the Nation on Welfare Reform

April 11, 1992
    The American people have always been a people constantly searching 
for improvement, impatient for change when things need changing. Last 
week I spoke about the need for a change here in Washington, for 
Government reform, especially congressional reform. Today I want to 
focus on reforming our welfare system, especially on our Government's 
role in that reform process.
    After years of trying to help those who are in need, we have found 
that too often our assistance does not help people out of poverty; it 
traps them there. It's not that people stopped caring; it's that the 
system stopped working. We want a welfare system that breaks the cycle 
of dependency before dignity is destroyed and before poverty becomes a 
family legacy. But today we must face this fact: Our system has failed.
    I have repeatedly called for the forging of Federal-State 
partnerships that would make welfare reform a powerful, effective 
reality. Yesterday, at my direction, the Federal Government waived 
outdated rules to allow Wisconsin to try a new kind of welfare reform. 
The Wisconsin plan replaces some of the old assumptions of the welfare 
state and recognizes the importance of personal responsibility, self-
respect, independence, and self-sufficiency.
    In my State of the Union Address, I made a commitment to make it 
quicker and easier for States with welfare reform ideas to get the 
Federal waivers they need. By approving Wisconsin's waivers 24 days 
after we received their request, that commitment now has the force of 
action. I want to commend Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson, and I want 
to challenge other States to propose their own reforms.
    We must balance America's generous heart with our responsibility to 
the taxpayers who underwrite governmental assistance. Our assistance 
should in no way encourage dependency or undermine our Nation's economic 
competitiveness. We pay twice for those who make welfare a way of life: 
once for the initial benefits, but even more because the Nation loses 
their contribution to the Nation's economic well-being.
    Those who receive Government assistance have certain 
responsibilities: the responsibility to seek work or get education and 
training that will help them get a job, and the responsibility to get 
their lives in order. That means establishing lifestyles that will 
enable them to fulfill their potential, not destroy it.
    We have responsibilities, too. We must structure our welfare 
programs so that they

[[Page 593]]

reverse policies which lock in a lifestyle of dependency and subtly 
destroy self-esteem. We must encourage family formation and family 
stability. Too often our welfare programs have encouraged exactly the 
opposite.
    We must incorporate incentives for recipients to stay in school. For 
instance, in Wisconsin, teen parents are required by the Learnfare 
program to stay in school to obtain full benefits. They recognize that 
in many respects opportunity is equated with education. And I'll have 
more to say about the urgent need for educational reform next week as we 
mark the first anniversary of the crusade that I call America 2000.
    My approach to welfare reform should not only open the doors of 
opportunity for our citizens who are on public assistance but also 
prepare them to walk proudly and competently through those doors. Our 
goal is to build a system of welfare that will encourage self-respect, 
build strength of character, and develop to the fullest each 
individual's potential for a productive, meaningful life.
    Thank you for listening. And may God bless the United States of 
America.

                    Note: This address was recorded at 8:15 a.m. on 
                        April 10 in the Oval Office at the White House 
                        for broadcast after 9 a.m. on April 11.