    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [December 4, 1999]
    [Pages 2207-2208]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    December 4, 1999

        Good morning. Yesterday we crossed a historic threshold with the
    creation of more than 20 million new jobs since January 1993. This is a
    great American achievement and further proof of the health of our
    economy, which now has given us the longest peacetime expansion in our
    Nation's history. Today I want to talk about a group of new workers who,
    just a few short years ago, were virtually locked out of our growing
    economy and their chance at the American dream: the more than one
    million Americans who are now moving from welfare to work every year.
        Seven years ago I asked the American people to join me in ending
    welfare as we know it. In 1996, with bipartisan support, we passed a
    landmark welfare reform bill. Today I am pleased to announce that we've
    cut the rolls by more than half. Fewer Americans are on welfare today
    than at any time since 1969, 30 years ago. We're moving more than a
    million people a year from the welfare rolls to the payrolls, 1.3
    million in 1998 alone. And most of

    [[Page 2208]]

    the people who get jobs are keeping them. They're getting raises and
    paying taxes and teaching their children to honor the dignity of work.
        We've changed the culture of welfare from one that fostered
    dependence to one that honors and rewards work. That's why I fought to
    create high performance bonuses for States that do the most for parents
    entering the work force. I am pleased to announce the first of those
    awards today.
        Twenty-seven States will share $200 million in bonuses for four
    categories: how many people they've placed in jobs; how well those
    people did at keeping their jobs and improving their wages; the biggest
    improvement in job placement; and the biggest improvement in on-the-job
    success. The States ranked highest were Indiana, Minnesota, Washington,
    and Florida. I congratulate these States for their achievement. If every
    State had performed as well as Indiana in placing workers in jobs, we
    would have helped more than twice as many people go to work last year. I
    challenge every State to invest its welfare reform resources in helping
    people to succeed at work.
        This is not just about numbers. It's about real people. People like
    Wendy Waxler of Washington, DC. Wendy wanted a
    job, but needed time to care for her daughter, who has cerebral palsy.
    She couldn't afford to lose the Medicaid that paid the doctor's bills.
    Through welfare to work, Wendy found a flexible job and kept Medicaid
    and food stamps, at first. Now she and her daughter have health
    insurance, and Wendy has new confidence and new dreams.
        People like Wendy Waxler are an asset our
    economy simply cannot afford to waste. So we must do more to support
    working families and people who are trying to turn their lives around.
    That's why I've asked Congress to raise the minimum wage, so that a
    full-time job is a real ticket out of poverty; it's why we won new
    resources and will fight for more, for our new markets initiative, to
    make it easier for businesses and banks to invest in America's poorest
    communities; and why I'm asking Congress to increase our commitment to
    quality child care.
        All of us have a moral responsibility to do everything we can to
    ensure that every eligible family receives health care and nutritional
    assistance, so all our children can grow up healthy. I fought hard to
    ensure that the welfare reform law guaranteed these critical supports.
    Now our administration is taking steps to hold States accountable and
    make sure families get the benefits they need. Today I am also
    announcing new performance bonuses like the ones I just awarded for
    States that do the best at enrolling eligible families in Medicaid and
    food stamps.
        Finally, the old welfare system actually weakened families, by
    discouraging couples from marrying or living with their children. We
    want to change that, so starting next year there will also be bonuses
    for States that do the most to get poor children into two-parent homes,
    where we know they have the best chance of breaking the cycle of
    poverty.
        Supporting hard-pressed working families and helping people to make
    the transition from welfare to work isn't just the right thing to do;
    it's also the smart thing. It encourages millions of people to take
    responsibility for their families, their future. In so doing, it expands
    opportunity and strengthens our economy and builds a healthier future
    for all of us.
        Thanks for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 7:15 p.m. on December 3 in the Oval
    Office at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on December 4. In
    his remarks, the President referred to the Personal Responsibility and
    Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Public Law No. 104-193. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    December 3 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast.