    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
    [May 18, 1996]
    [Pages 773-774]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    May 18, 1996

        Good morning. Four years ago, I challenged America to end welfare as
    we know it, to require work, promote responsible parenting, shift the
    system from dependence to independence. Just a few days after I took
    office, I met with the Nation's 50 Governors, and I urged every one of
    them to send me a welfare reform plan that would help to meet that
    challenge. In return, I pledged to waive outmoded or counterproductive
    Federal rules that get in the way of reform.
        Most of the Governors took me up on that deal. So in the last 3
    years, my administration has granted 38 States welfare reform waivers,
    clearing away Federal rules and regulations to permit States to build
    effective welfare reforms of their own. The State-based reform we've
    encouraged has brought work and responsibility

    [[Page 774]]

    back to the lives of 75 percent of the Americans on welfare.
        We're doing a lot more than signing waivers. We've also pressed
    ahead on fundamental reforms to make the welfare system reflect the
    basic values that have stood up so well for so long, that if you bring a
    child into this world, you must take responsibility for that child; that
    Government will not subsidize irresponsible or reckless behavior; that
    welfare is a second chance, not a way of life.
        That's why I signed a Presidential order to require Federal
    employees to pay child support and increased Federal efforts to enforce
    child support orders across State lines. I toughened sanctions on
    welfare and food stamp recipients who refuse to work. I took action
    earlier this month to require teen mothers to stay in school and sign
    personal responsibility contracts if they are to receive welfare
    benefits. That's also why I sent Congress a sweeping welfare reform plan
    that would do all this and more.
        Our hard work is paying off. America is in the midst of what the New
    York Times has called a quiet revolution in welfare reform under our
    administration. The number of Americans on welfare has dropped by 1.3
    million since I took office in January 1993. Food stamp rolls are down
    by even more, and so are teen pregnancy rates. What numbers are up?
    Well, child support collections have jumped 40 percent, and the number
    of people who are required to work as a condition for receiving welfare
    is also way up.
        Today I'm pleased to report that two States, Wisconsin and Maryland,
    are adding momentum to this quiet revolution. Last week, Wisconsin
    submitted to me for approval the outlines of a sweeping welfare reform
    plan, one of the boldest yet attempted in America, and I'm encouraged by
    what I've seen so far.
        Under the Wisconsin plan, people on welfare who can work must work
    immediately. The State will see to it that the work is there, in private
    sector jobs that can be subsidized if necessary or in community service
    jobs if there are no private jobs available. The State says it will also
    see to it that families have health care and child care, so that parents
    can go to work without worrying about what will happen to their
    children. But then they must go to work, or they won't get paid. If they
    do work, of course, they'll have the dignity of earning a paycheck, not
    a welfare check. The plan would send a clear message to teen parents as
    well. If you're a minor with a baby, you'll receive benefits only if you
    stay in school, live at home, and turn your life around.
        All in all, Wisconsin has the makings of a solid, bold welfare
    reform plan. We should get it done. I pledge that my administration will
    work with Wisconsin to make an effective transition to a new vision of
    welfare based on work, that protects children and does right by working
    people and their families.
        Maryland also has come up with its own innovative welfare reform
    plan. It cracks down on welfare fraud, comes down hard on parents who
    turn their backs on child support, and helps working parents with child
    care so they won't be driven onto welfare in the first place.
        The reforms in Wisconsin, Maryland, and other States are very
    encouraging for two reasons: First, they give us hope that we can break
    the vicious cycle of welfare dependency and, second, because they make
    it clear that there is now a widespread national consensus shared by
    people without regard to their political party on what welfare reform
    should look like. It should be pro-work, pro-family, pro-independence,
    responsible. Welfare should be a second chance, not a way of life.
        So the States can keep on sending me strong welfare reform
    proposals, and I'll keep on signing them. I'll keep doing everything I
    can as President to reform welfare State by State, if that's what it
    takes.
        But there's a faster way to bring this welfare reform to the entire
    Nation. There are bipartisan welfare reform plans sitting in the House
    and the Senate right now that do what the American people agree welfare
    reform must do: They require welfare recipients to work; they limit the
    time people can stay on welfare; they toughen child support enforcement;
    and they protect our children.
        So I say to Congress: Send me a bill that honors these fundamental
    principles. I'll sign it right away. Let's get the job done. Let's do it
    now. Let's bring welfare reform to all 50 States. Then we'll move on to
    the other challenges we face as we stand at the dawn of a new century.
        Thanks for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 3:40 p.m. on May 17 at the Italia
    America Bocce Club in St. Louis for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on May 18.