    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book I)]
    [March 25, 1995]
    [Pages 396-397]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    March 25, 1995

        Good morning. This morning I want to talk about how much we can
    accomplish when we work in a spirit of cooperation. Once again, this
    week demonstrated that Democrats and Republicans can come together to
    break gridlock when they put the American people first.
        Our mission here is to keep the American dream alive for all our
    people; to grow the middle class and shrink the under class; to promote
    the mainstream values of work and family, community, and looking out for
    the future of our children; to reform Government to meet the challenges
    we face. There's a great debate here about how to change Government. On
    one side is the old view that big one-size-fits-all Government can fix
    all our big problems. On the other is the view that Government is the
    source of all our problems. In the real world that's a false choice.
        We must go beyond the old way of big Government and the new rage of
    no Government to the idea of Government as a partner, a partner that
    works to expand opportunity while shrinking bureaucracy, to empower
    people to make the most of their own lives through education and
    training, and to enhance our security on our streets and around the
    world. That's what I believe. And I believe most Americans feel that
    way, too.
        In short, I believe that Federal Government must be a savior--or
    cannot be a savior but must not sit on the sidelines. For our future we
    need a Government that helps us to create more opportunity but demands
    more responsibility from all our citizens. That's what I mean by the New
    Covenant: opportunity and responsibility.
        Despite real differences between Republicans and Democrats, we see
    progress on three proposals I have supported for many years, proposals
    that I advocated when I ran for President. All of them impose more
    responsibility on the Federal Government. And it's high time.
        First, Congress passed a bill, which I was proud to sign, requiring
    Congress to live by the laws it imposes on the private sector. Second,
    last week in the Rose Garden right outside the Oval Office where I'm
    speaking now, I was pleased to sign another bill which for the first
    time limits the ability of Congress to pass laws which impose unfunded
    mandates on State and local Governments. As a former Governor, I know
    this bill will make a big difference in the ability of State and local
    governments to improve the lives of our people without having Washington
    tell them how to spend the tax dollars you send them. Third, last week
    the Senate passed a line-item veto. I have favored this power for
    Presidents, no matter what their party, for a long time. It will bring
    more discipline to our spending process by enabling Presidents to veto
    particular projects which are unjustified but which today can be hidden
    in comprehensive bills the President has to sign. Now that the line-item
    veto in some version has passed both Houses of Congress, I urge Members
    from both parties to resolve their differences, pass a unified bill, and
    send it to me. Then the line-item veto can put our people ahead of pork.
        Last week, we saw some progress on another crucial issue, welfare
    reform. We saw that we can find common ground, but we are not all the
    way there yet. In my radio address last

    [[Page 397]]

    week, I talked about the need to have tougher child support enforcement,
    to demand that parents take responsibility for their own children and
    not let parents off the hook or make the taxpayers pick up the tab for
    their neglect. If all the child support in America that is owed was
    paid, we could move 800,000 families off the welfare roll.
        I'm pleased that Members of the House in both parties responded to
    my position on tougher child support enforcement. They voted by 426 to 5
    to adopt a provision from my welfare reform bill that calls upon States
    to deny driver's licenses and professional licenses to deadbeat parents,
    people who owe child support and can pay it but don't. The House has now
    adopted every major child support element in my welfare reform bill. If
    the Senate will follow suit, we'll mount the toughest crackdown on
    deadbeat parents ever and will help more children, too.
        But we have to do more to promote responsible parenting. Other
    provisions of the House bill would actually make it harder for many
    people to get off and stay off welfare. And the bill doesn't really do
    anything to promote work; indeed, it removes any real responsibility for
    States to help people gain the training and skills they need to get and
    keep jobs. It even cuts child care for working people struggling to hold
    down jobs and stay off welfare.
        I commend the Democrats in the House for voting unanimously for an
    alternative bill sponsored by Congressman Nathan Deal of Georgia because
    it was tougher on work requirements, better for children, and did more
    to promote responsible parenting. I'm looking forward to working with
    Republicans and Democrats to really end welfare as we know it, making
    sure people earn a paycheck, not a welfare check, that they move from
    dependence to independence.
        I also want to caution the Members of the House to try to tone down
    the rhetoric. It got a little rough last week and a little too personal
    and partisan. After all, all Americans want to change the welfare
    system; no American wants to continue a system that doesn't promote work
    and responsible parenting.
        In everything we do we must be working to expand the middle class,
    to shrink the under class, and to promote these values of family and
    work, community, and looking out for the future of our kids. I hope
    we'll be back in the Rose Garden while it's still spring to sign even
    more bills into law that help us to do those things. Guided by the
    values that have always kept us strong, we can work together to help all
    our people earn a fair shot at the American dream.
        Thanks for listening.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:06 a.m. from the Oval Office at the
    White House.