    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 25 (Monday, June 27, 1994)]
    [Pages 1320-1321]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Message to the Congress Transmitting the ``Work and Responsibility Act
    of 1994''

    June 21, 1994

    To the Congress of the United States:

        I am pleased to transmit for your immediate consideration and
    enactment the ``Work and Responsibility Act of 1994.''
        It is time to end welfare as we know it and replace it with a system
    that is based on work and responsibility--a system that will help people
    help themselves. This legislation reinforces the fundamental values of
    work, responsibility, family, and community. It rewards work over
    welfare. It signals that people should not have children until they are
    ready to support them, and that parents--both parents--who bring
    children into the world must take responsibility for supporting them. It
    gives people access to the skills they need and expects work in return.
    Most important, it will give people back the dignity that comes from
    work and independence. The cost of the proposal to the Federal
    Government is estimated at $9.3 billion over 5 years and is fully
    offset, primarily through reductions in entitlements and without new tax
    increases.
        The Work and Responsibility Act of 1994 will replace welfare with
    work. Under this legislation, welfare will be about a paycheck, not a
    welfare check. Our approach is based on a simple compact designed to
    reinforce and reward work. Each recipient will be required to develop a
    personal employability plan designed to move that individual into the
    work force as quickly as possible. Support, job training, and child care
    will be provided to help people move from dependence to independence.
    Time limits will ensure that anyone who can work, must work--in the
    private sector if possible, in a temporary subsidized job if necessary.
        This legislation includes several provisions aimed at creating a new
    culture of mutual responsibility. It includes provisions to promote
    parental responsibility and ensure that both parents contribute to their
    children's well-being. This legislation establishes the toughest child
    support enforcement program ever. It also includes: incentives directly
    tied to the performance of the welfare office; extensive efforts to
    detect and prevent welfare fraud; sanctions to prevent gaming of the
    welfare system; and a broad array of incentives that States can use to
    encourage responsible behavior.
        Preventing teen pregnancy and out-of-wedlock births is a critical
    part of welfare reform. To prevent welfare dependency, teenagers must
    get the message that staying in school, postponing pregnancy, and
    preparing to work are the right things to do. Our prevention approach
    includes a national campaign against teen pregnancy and a national
    clearinghouse on teen pregnancy prevention. Roughly 1,000 middle and
    high schools in disadvantaged areas will receive grants to develop
    innovative teen pregnancy prevention programs.
        The Work and Responsibility Act of 1994 proposes dramatic changes in
    our welfare system, changes so bold that they cannot be accomplished
    overnight. We can phase in these changes by focusing on young people, to
    send a clear message to the next generation that we are ending welfare
    as we know it. The bill targets resources on welfare beneficiaries born
    after December 31, 1971. This means that over time, more and more
    welfare beneficiaries will be affected by the new rules: about a third
    of the caseload in 1997, and half by the year 2000. States that want to
    phase in faster will have the option of doing so.
        The results of these changes will be far-reaching. In the year 2000,
    2.4 million adults will be subject to the new rules under welfare
    reform, including time limits and work re-

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    quirements. Almost 1 million people will be either off welfare or
    working.
        But the impact of welfare reform cannot be measured in these numbers
    alone. This legislation is aimed at strengthening families and
    instilling personal responsibility by helping people help themselves. We
    owe every child in America the chance to watch their parents assume the
    responsibility and dignity of a real job. This bill is designed to make
    that possible.
        I urge the Congress to take prompt and favorable action on this
    legislation.
                                                William J. Clinton
    The White House,
    June 21, 1994.