[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book II)]
[August 3, 1995]
[Page 1196]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Statement on Proposed Welfare Reform Legislation
August 3, 1995

    I strongly support the Work First bill proposed by Senators Daschle, 
Breaux, and Mikulski. Instead of maintaining the current welfare system, 
which undermines our basic values of work, responsibility, and family, 
this plan sends people to work so they can earn a paycheck, not a 
welfare check. It provides the child care people need to move from 
welfare to work and to enable them to stay off welfare in the first 
place. It holds State bureaucracies accountable for real results and 
rewards States for putting people to work, not just cutting people off. 
It saves money by moving people to work, not by shipping the States more 
problems and less money. The Work First plan is real reform, and it 
should be the basis for a strong bipartisan bill.
    It is time for Congress to reach across party lines and pass real 
welfare reform. The American people have waited long enough.