[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book II)]
[July 5, 1997]
[Pages 916-917]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 916]]


The President's Radio Address
July 5, 1997

    Good morning. We come together this weekend to celebrate 
Independence Day, our 221 years of freedom, and the fundamental values 
that unite us as one America: All of us should have an equal chance to 
succeed, and all of us have the same obligation to work hard, to be law-
abiding citizens, to give something back to our community, to earn in 
our generation the freedom our Founders established.
    These are the values that have guided our efforts to end welfare as 
we know it. Today I want to talk to you about the progress we have made 
over the last 4\1/2\ years, the changes now underway, and what we must 
do--all of us--to make sure that welfare reform honors those values, 
too.
    For 4\1/2\ years, my administration has been committed to putting an 
end to the old welfare system that trapped too many families in a cycle 
of despair. Working with the States, we first launched welfare reform 
experiments in 43 States that emphasize work and personal 
responsibility.
    Then last summer, I signed historic legislation that revolutionized 
welfare into a system that supports families and children but demands 
work from those who are able to perform it. It was a dramatic step, but 
we knew the time was right to put an end to a system that was broken 
beyond repair. As of July 1st, just a few days ago, welfare reform has 
taken effect in all 50 States. This week the old welfare system came to 
an end. Now a new system based on work is taking its place. This system 
demands responsibility, but not only from the people who are now 
required to work but also from every American.
    We knew last August that the new welfare reform law was not a 
guarantee but a bold experiment. So far, it's working. I'm pleased to 
announce that today there are 3 million fewer people on welfare than 
there were the day I took office, a remarkable 1.2 million fewer since I 
signed welfare reform into law. This is the largest decrease in the 
welfare rolls in history, giving us the lowest percentage of our 
population on welfare since 1970.
    We have begun to put an end to the culture of dependency and to 
elevate our values of family, work, and responsibility. But we have only 
begun. Now we must continue to work together to meet our goal of moving 
a million more people from welfare to work by the year 2000.
    Since I took office, the economy has added 12\1/2\ million new jobs, 
and many economists believe we will continue to produce the jobs we need 
to meet our challenge. But even so, it won't be easy because many of the 
people who remain on welfare have never worked before; still others live 
in poor communities without enough jobs. So if we expect people to work, 
we need to make sure there's work for them to go to. And we need to make 
sure that those with no previous work experience, without present 
connections to mainstream America, get both the preparation and the 
support they need to succeed.
    The National Government will do its part. First, the balanced budget 
agreement we reached with Congress in May provides $3 billion to create 
jobs to move people from welfare to work. I secured a commitment from 
congressional leaders to give private employers tax incentives to hire 
long-term welfare recipients as well. And I believe that every one of 
those new workers should earn at least the minimum wage and receive the 
protections of existing employment laws that other workers enjoy.
    Second, we must help welfare recipients get to the new jobs, which 
often are outside their neighborhoods. That's why I recently proposed 
legislation providing $600 million to help States and local communities 
devise transportation strategies to move people from welfare to work.
    Third, we must make sure that mothers who must now go to work have 
good child care and adequate health care for their children. That's why 
I made sure that the welfare reform bill added $4 billion more in child 
care assistance and why I fought for the balanced budget agreement to 
extend health care coverage to millions more uninsured children.
    States must also do their part. Many States are already working to 
reduce caseloads and free resources to put even more people to work. For 
example, Wisconsin and Florida are significantly increasing their 
investments in child care. In Oregon, they're providing health care and

[[Page 917]]

transportation support and subsidizing jobs with money that used to pay 
for welfare checks.
    Today I challenge every State to take the money they save from 
lowering their caseloads and use it--for child care, for transportation, 
to subsidize the training and wage help that people need to move from 
welfare to work.
    As much as the National and State Governments can do to move people 
from welfare to work, we know the vast majority of the jobs must be 
created by the private business. The most lasting way to bring people on 
welfare into the mainstream of American life is with a solid job in the 
private sector.
    So, to every businessperson who has ever criticized the old system, 
I say, that system is gone; it's now up to you to help make the new 
system work. Already, businesses of all sizes have joined in a national 
welfare-to-work partnership, committed to hiring welfare recipients and 
to recruiting other employers to join them. I've committed the Federal 
Government to hire 10,000 welfare recipients over the next 4 years. If 
you have a business and can hire just one, it will be a great citizen 
service.
    This Independence Day, all Americans should be very happy that 3 
million of our fellow citizens are now off welfare rolls. If we can 
provide another million jobs, then we'll have about 3 million more 
workers and their children who can celebrate their own independence day 
by the turn of the century.
    So as we celebrate our Nation's past and the values that unite us, 
let us look forward to the future and let us redouble our determination 
to give more and more of our fellow citizens their own personal 
independence day.
    Thanks for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 2:25 p.m. on July 3 in the Oval Office 
at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on July 5.