[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book I)]
[March 23, 1995]
[Pages 394-395]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Statement on House of Representatives Action on Welfare Reform
March 23, 1995

    I want to applaud Democrats and Republicans in the House of 
Representatives for approving an amendment this afternoon to require 
States to deny drivers and professional licenses to deadbeat parents who 
refuse to pay child support. This tough provision was a central part of 
the welfare reform plan my administration introduced last year and sends 
a clear signal: No parent in America has a right to walk away from the 
responsibility to raise their children.
    I congratulate the sponsor of the amendment, Representative Marge 
Roukema (R-NJ), as well as Representative Barbara Kennelly (D-CT) and 
other Members who have worked across party lines to make tough child 
support enforcement a central part of welfare reform. With this 
amendment, the House welfare reform legislation now includes every major 
child support pillar of our welfare reform plan, which offered the 
toughest possible child support enforcement measures ever put forward.

[[Page 395]]

    These actions on child support enforcement prove that welfare reform 
can and must be a bipartisan issue. Unfortunately, the House Republican 
bill still does not offer the kind of real welfare reform that Americans 
in both parties expect. Welfare reform must be tough on work and tough 
on deadbeat parents, not tough on children.
    I look forward to working with Republicans and Democrats in both 
Houses of Congress to enact real reform that makes work and 
responsibility a way of life.