    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
    [May 4, 1996]
    [Pages 687-688]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    May 4, 1996

        Good morning. This week was another good week for America. We
    learned that growth is up and unemployment is down. That's good for
    American jobs and good for America's families. We also had more good
    news on America's families today involving the Family and Medical Leave
    Act, which I was proud to sign in 1993. This week the bipartisan panel
    Congress created to study it reported that the law has helped more than
    one in six American employees take time off because of a serious family
    health problem, without any danger of losing their jobs. And almost 90
    percent of the businesses found that complying with family and medical
    leave cost them little or nothing. This is making America's families
    stronger, promoting work and family.
        That's what we have to do with welfare reform, too. Our job is to
    fix a welfare system that too often pulls families apart and turns it
    into one that helps families pull together, to fix a system that traps
    too many people in a cycle of dependency that ends up snaring their
    children as well, and instead, to create one that promotes jobs and
    independence.

    [[Page 688]]

        For the last 3 years, we have been working hard to turn the welfare
    system around. All across America the welfare rolls are down, food stamp
    rolls are down, teen pregnancy rates are down compared to 4 years ago.
    And compared to 4 years ago, more and more people on welfare today are
    working as a condition of receiving welfare.
        A lot of this has happened because our administration has worked
    very hard to free States from Federal rules and regulations which have
    built up over the years and which contribute to the flaws in the present
    system. We have slashed this redtape to 37 States, covering 75 percent
    of all the people on welfare in America, so that they can take steps to
    fix the broken system. State by State, we are building a welfare system
    that demands work, requires responsibility, and protects our children.
        But more needs to be done. The American people need a welfare system
    that honors American values: work, family, and personal responsibility.
    In 1994, and again this year, I sent Congress a sweeping welfare reform
    plan that would impose strict time limits on how long people can stay on
    welfare and strict work requirements for people when they are on
    welfare. My plan would also provide more funding for child care, so
    single parents can go to work. And it would crack down on parents who
    skip out on their responsibility to pay child support.
        If Congress sends me a welfare reform bill that is tough on work
    instead of tough on children and weak on work, I will gladly and proudly
    sign it. Meanwhile, I am going to keep moving ahead to fix the welfare
    system by promoting work and looking out for our children.
        Today I'm acting to help teen mothers break free from the cycle of
    dependency for good. The only way for teen mothers to escape the welfare
    trap is to live at home, stay in school, and get the education they need
    to get a good job. We must make sure the welfare system demands that
    teen mothers follow the responsible path to independence.
        Ohio has used freedom from Federal rules to implement a terrific
    program they call LEAP--Learning, Education, and Parenting. LEAP cuts
    welfare checks when teen mothers don't go to school, and rewards them
    when they do. And it works. A report released just this week by the
    Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation shows that for an important
    group of teens LEAP significantly increased the number of teen mothers
    who finished school, got jobs, and got off welfare. Every State should
    follow this example.
        That's why today I'm announcing that every State must put in place a
    plan to keep teen mothers on welfare in school. We are going to audit
    the progress of every State and make the results public. Second, we are
    going to make teen mothers who drop out of school go back to school and
    sign contracts that spell out exactly how they are going to take
    responsibility for their own lives. And third, we are giving States
    immediate authority to provide bonuses to teen mothers who go to school
    and graduate, and to cut back the checks of those who don't.
        Finally, I'm challenging every State in the country to use its power
    to keep children who have children at home where they belong. There
    should be no incentive to leave home for a bigger welfare check.
    Unfortunately, even though they can, most States don't require teen
    mothers to live at home. That's wrong. Of course, if there is an abusive
    situation at home, children should be living in another safe,
    responsible setting. But we have to make it clear that a baby doesn't
    give you a right, and won't give you the money, to leave home and drop
    out of school. Today we are moving to make responsibility a way of life,
    not an option.
        These commonsense steps have bipartisan support. They will help teen
    parents escape the cycle of dependency and start down the path to a
    successful future for themselves and their children. Now Congress needs
    to do its job and pass welfare reform. I'm glad that a group of
    bipartisan lawmakers is working on welfare reform. If Congress sends me
    a clean welfare reform plan that demands work, demands responsibility,
    protects children, and helps families stay together, I will sign it.
    Until then, I'll keep working to do everything in my power to reform
    welfare, step by step and State by State.
        Thanks for listening.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:06 a.m. from the Map Room at the White
    House. He signed a memorandum on the welfare initiative regarding teen
    parents on May 10.