[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 40 (Monday, October 6, 1997)]
[Pages 1456-1458]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
<R04>
Remarks on the Income and Poverty Report and an Exchange With Reporters
September 29, 1997
The President. I don't know if I can go on. [Laughter]
Good morning. This Friday will mark the sixth anniversary of the day
I announced my intention to run for President of the United States. On
that day, I challenged America to embrace an urgent mission for the 21st
century, to preserve the American dream, restore the hopes of the
forgotten middle class, and reclaim the future for our children.
As President, I have worked hard to set America on that track, to
fulfill that mission, putting in place a bold strategy to shrink the
deficit, invest in our people, and expand the sales of America's
products and services abroad. I am pleased to announce today that we
have more evidence that our economic strategy is succeeding.
This morning, the Census Bureau released its annual Survey of Income
and Poverty in America. It shows that last year the typical family
benefited from a significant increase
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in income for the third year in a row. Since we launched our economic
plan in 1993, the typical family's annual income has risen by nearly
$2,200 a year. That's an extra $2,200 that hard-working families can put
toward their children's education, a downpayment on a home, or even a
much needed vacation. After years and years of stagnant family incomes,
today's report proves that America's middle class, no longer forgotten,
is rising fast.
It should be noted that these figures do not reflect several other
dividends of prosperity we have delivered for the American people. They
don't reflect the $500 per child tax credit, the $1,500 HOPE
scholarship, the education IRA's, the real benefits of lower interest
rates and mortgage costs worth $1,000 a year or more to millions of
homeowners.
And rising incomes are also lifting families out of poverty. The
report shows that while there is clearly much more to be done, the
African-American poverty rate has fallen to its lowest level ever. The
income of the typical Hispanic household grew more last year than in any
single year on record. The child poverty rate has dropped, in the past 3
years, more than in any 3-year period since the 1960's. And the earned-
income tax credit, which we have dramatically expanded and then fought
hard to preserve, has raised more than 4 million people out of poverty
last year.
The report also shows we have more to do to extend opportunity to
all Americans. Starting in the 1970's, income inequality rose sharply.
Now it has stabilized. Since 1993, every income group has seen its
income rise, with those in the lowest 20 percent showing the fastest
gains, thanks, in part, to the minimum wage, to more jobs, and to the
earned-income tax credit, which is not measured in the statistics. But
we still have to do more to grow together in the 21st century.
Let me say that this report also underscores another important
challenge, one that I have been concerned about for a long time. Last
year, there were 800,000 more children without health insurance than the
year before. However, thank goodness, many of these children will now be
eligible for coverage under the balanced budget's historic $24 billion
child health initiative, which takes effect this week.
Two years ago we were fighting hard to save Medicaid's guarantee to
4 million children. Now we're looking forward to extending child health
insurance to another 5 million children. We have to work together to
encourage the States to take full advantage of this opportunity and to
make sure that the funds are spent actually insuring children who do not
have health insurance today.
To ensure that all our people benefit from the growing economy, we
also have to make sure that our people have access to the world's best
education, with high standards in the basics. And we have to address the
pressing issue of child care. That is another thing that would help to
alleviate pressures on middle and lower income working families'
households.
The first ever White House Conference on Child Care will be held
later this fall. It will focus on how we can help parents to succeed at
home and work through quality, affordable child care. In all these ways
we can continue to fulfill what I started out to do 6 years ago,
preserving the American dream, restoring the middle class, reclaiming
the future for our children. But this is good news. And now, Janet
Yellen and Gene Sperling will be able to answer questions about the
details of the proposals.
Thank you.
Campaign Finance Legislation
Q. What do you think is the chance of getting campaign finance
reform through this session this year?
The President. Well, I hope it's good. It's certainly better than it
was a month ago. Obviously, there is still strong opposition to it in
the leadership of the Republican Party, and they're in the majority in
Congress. But I've seen some encouraging signs in the Senate, and
frankly, I've seen some encouraging signs in the House with some
Republican members willing to speak up and say that we ought to do
something. So I'm quite hopeful that we will get something.
I know this--if we just--the way these things work, if we can
succeed in keeping the public spotlight on the debate, then the pressure
will build to come out with some
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thing positive. And I have done what I could, and I'm very proud of our
caucus in the Senate for doing what it has done. The Democrats have
clearly come out unanimously for some--for campaign finance reform. And
we've just got to keep the public spotlight on this and keep going until
we get legislation.
Welfare Reform
Q. Mr. President, many States, California, Texas, Florida,
acknowledge that they're going to fail the first real test of the new
welfare law, the requirement that they have 75 percent of two-parent
welfare families in jobs and job training by this week. Will HHS impose
fines that--[inaudible]--allowed to do, on the States? And what--does it
shake your confidence, this failure--shake your confidence in the new
welfare law?
The President. No, because, first of all--let me answer the second
question first. It doesn't shake my confidence in the law, because we
have succeeded, I think, beyond anybody's expectations, partly from the
growing economy and partly from welfare reform efforts, in reducing the
welfare rolls more than they have ever been reduced in a comparable time
period, ever.
We've had 20 years of immigration in our country at high levels,
many of the immigrants coming here come without many resources, and they
want to work their way into the American dream. So we've had a lot of
people coming in here, and yet we've been successful in having the
smallest percentage of our people on welfare since 1970.
So my answer to you is, I want to keep high standards, and I want
them enforced, because we block-granted the money to the States they
asked for. After all, they supported the law. They said we could keep
the Federal guarantee for health care and food stamps, nutrition, which
I insisted on, but they pointed out that they already had the freedom to
set different welfare reimbursement levels every month, so they wanted
control of that pot of money so they would have more flexibility to move
people from welfare to work. And in return, they agreed to these
targets.
So I think we just need to keep pushing ahead. In terms of what
should be done, obviously I want to consult with our people at HHS and
others to do what is best. But I think most States really are working
hard and in good faith to try to do this. I think that they know that's
what the voters want and most importantly, that's what the people on
welfare want. So we don't want to just forget about our high standards,
especially when we've proven we can hire a lot more people than we ever
thought we could.
Campaign Finance Legislation
Q. You mentioned Republicans in the House. This weekend, Speaker
Gingrich was unusually caustic, accusing your staff and your lawyers of
blocking pursuit of the truth in law. Have you looked back at your
records and the phone calls that you have made and come to any new
conclusion about your own involvement?
The President. First of all, I think--no, I have not come to any new
conclusion. But I think the remarks this weekend were an attempt to
divert the public attention from the fact that the leadership of the
Republican Party in the House opposes campaign finance reform, and has
consistently, and continues to do so.
But I am encouraged that along with our Democrats who are supporting
it, there are an increasingly vocal band of brave Republicans willing to
stick up and be for it. And again, this is our chance to pass this bill,
and I think we'd all be making a mistake to be diverted. I don't intend
to be.
Thank you.
Note: The President spoke at 11:03 a.m. in the Briefing Room at the
White House.