    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 9 (Monday, March 4, 2002)]
    [Pages 295-299]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks on the Welfare Reform Agenda

    February 26, 2002

        Thank you very much for that warm welcome, and thank you for your
    kind introduction, Tommy. Tommy, as Bob Woodson noted, was on the
    leading edge of welfare reform in the State of Wisconsin, and the people
    of Wisconsin were better off for it. And fortunately, he's agreed to
    come to Washington, DC, to serve an incredibly important position as the
    Secretary of Health and Human Services. And the American people are
    going to be better off for his leadership, as well.
        I appreciate Bob Woodson's spirit. I like to call Bob a social
    entrepreneur. And there's a lot of social entrepreneurs here in this
    room, and I want to thank you for caring about your communities. I had
    the privilege and honor of meeting with some neighborhood healers here a
    little earlier, soldiers in the armies of compassion, people whose lives
    were one time dark and hopeless, who now see a bright and clear future
    because of faith and are willing to share that future with others.
        It was a powerful meeting for me. I sometimes get encapsulated in a
    bubble. It is important for me to, as often as I can, to hear the true
    stories of America. It reminds me of the strength of our country, and
    the strength of the country is in the hearts and souls of compassionate
    citizens. So thank you all very much for sharing your stories with me
    today.
        I see that we've got some Members of the United States Congress
    here. I see a Senator, a couple of House Members. I want to thank you
    all for coming. I appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedules
    to come and to hear what I hope happens when it comes to the welfare
    bill, its reauthorization. I'm really honored you took time.
        And I also want to thank a couple of my Governor buddies. I see the
    Governors of Wisconsin, Colorado, and Tennessee are here. You all are
    awfully kind to come. Thank

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    you for being here, as well. We appreciate your presence.
        I also want to thank Curtis Watkins. Curtis is a social
    entrepreneur, as well. He started the East Capitol Center for Change and
    provides support and care to countless lives. Curtis, thank you for your
    time, and thank you for what you do. See, this is something Government
    can't start. We can try, but we're not very good about inventing
    programs such as this. This program was invented because somebody loved
    their neighbor as much as they loved themselves. And as a result, there
    is a program--programs here which work on crime prevention and substance
    abuse treatment.
        Listen, there's all kinds of ways to treat substance. I understand
    that. But one sure way to help, one sure way to help somebody kick the
    habit is to introduce them to faith.
        Curtis' program has got mentoring and after-school activities.
    Mentoring programs are so important, because it gives somebody a chance
    to say to a young child, ``I love you. America belongs to you just as
    much as it belongs to anybody else.''
        There's Bible studies here; there's job training programs here;
    there's forums to improve parenting skills and to strengthen marriage.
    This organization was built on a simple and powerful principle: Every
    life has equal value, and no life is beyond hope or help. This
    conviction motivates thousands all across our country, and this
    conviction must always be reflected in the policies of our Government.
        Senator Hubert Humphrey once said that the moral test of a
    Government is how it treats those in the shadows of life. He was talking
    about the needy and the sick and the handicapped.
        I believe Americans in need are not problems; they are our
    neighbors. They're not strangers; they are citizens of our country. And
    to live up to our national ideals, ideals of equality and justice, every
    American of every background must have access to opportunity. We must
    never be content with islands of despair in the midst of a nation of
    promise. We want all Americans to believe in the potential of their own
    lives and the promise of their own country.
        So today I'm outlining the next steps of welfare reform, the next
    actions we must take to build a more just and generous nation. America
    began a war on poverty more than three decades ago, a story of good
    intention but conflicted results. There were important successes; no
    doubt about it, there were some good successes. Seniors were lifted out
    of poverty. Poor families got basic health care. Disadvantaged children
    were given a headstart in life.
        Yet, many Americans, in Bob Woodson's words, were injured by the
    helping hand. The welfare system became an enemy of individual effort
    and responsibility, with dependence passed from one generation to the
    next. Between 1965 and 1995, Federal and State spending on poor and low-
    income families increased from around $40 billion to more than $350
    billion a year. Yet, during the same 30-year period we made virtually no
    progress--no progress--in reducing child poverty, and the number of
    children born out of wedlock grew from 1 in 13 to 1 in 3.
        By the mid-1990s, few denied there was need for change. In sweeping
    reforms passed by Congress, welfare benefits were transferred into
    temporary help, not a permanent way of life. The new system honors work
    by requiring work and helps people find jobs. States are required to
    promote independence, and they are given the flexibility to seek that
    goal in new ways, with dollars that were once used for welfare payments,
    for example, now being used for childcare and other ways to help working
    families.
        Critics initially called these changes brutal and mean-spirited.
    Yet, the results of reform have proven them wrong. Many lives have been
    dramatically improved. Since 1996, welfare caseloads dropped by more
    than half. Today, 5.4 million fewer people live in poverty than in 1996,
    including 2.6 million fewer children. Child poverty for African-American
    children is at its lowest level ever. For the first time in generations,
    the out-of-wedlock birthrate has leveled off, and the unwed teen
    birthrate has declined since the mid-1990s.
        Many families understandably report financial difficulties in their
    lives after welfare. Yet, a majority also say that their lives are

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    better. Many are learning it is more rewarding to be a responsible
    citizen than a welfare client; it is better to be a breadwinner
    respected by your family.
        Sherrie Jordan, a mother of four children and a former welfare
    recipient living in Buffalo, New York, described her experience this
    way: ``It's overwhelming. I'm very happy. There aren't many words to
    describe it. I'm looking forward to being financially independent. I can
    do it myself now.''
        Sherrie and millions of others are good people facing a tough climb.
    They are gaining self-confidence. They are earning the respect of their
    fellow citizens and their Nation.
        Some analysts try to dismiss all these gains as the product of good
    economic times. Yet, we have had good economic times before, and the
    number of people on welfare went up. Beginning in the mid-1960s, welfare
    caseloads often increased even as the economy grew and unemployment
    fell.
        Overall caseloads increased substantially over the last 30 years,
    but thanks to the 1996 welfare reform legislation, the increases have
    ended. Welfare reform in 1996 was good and sound and compassionate
    public policy. It passed because leaders of both political parties
    agreed on what needed to be done, and we need that same spirit of
    bipartisanship today in Washington, DC, as we address this issue.
        We are encouraged by the initial results of welfare reform, but
    we're not content. We ended welfare as we've known it, yet it is not a
    post-poverty America. Child poverty is still too high. Too many families
    are strained and fragile and broken. Too many Americans still have not
    found work and the purpose it brings.
        Because these needs continue, our work is not done. We will continue
    a determined assault on poverty in this country. Later this year, the
    1996 welfare law must be reauthorized by the United States Congress. I
    have proposed spending more than $17 billion a year on welfare for years
    2003 to 2007. These funds will be provided to States through block
    grants, giving them the flexibility to use the funds for their most
    pressing needs. The budget I submitted will continue to maintain
    historically high levels of childcare funding.
        Yet, my administration will do more than spend money. We will pursue
    four important goals to continue transforming welfare in the lives of
    those that it helped. We will strengthen work requirements. We must
    promote strong families. We will give States more flexibility, and we
    will show compassion to those in need.
        First, we will strengthen the work requirements for those on
    welfare. Work is the pathway to independence and self-respect. Yet,
    because of a quirk in the 1996 law, States on average must require work
    of only 5 percent of the adults receiving welfare. This is certainly not
    what Congress had in mind when it wrote the reforms in 1996, so I'm
    recommending that the law be changed and every State be required within
    5 years to have 70 percent of the welfare recipients working, so that
    more Americans know the independence and the dignity of work.
        Welfare recipients must spend at least 40 hours a week in work and
    preparing for work. Because many adults on welfare need new skills, my
    plan will allow States to combine work with up to 2 days each week of
    education or job training. So in other words, it's a combination of
    working and training. And for people who need intensive short-term help,
    our proposal offers 3 months of full-time drug rehabilitation or 3
    months of full-time job training. And adolescent's mothers--adolescent
    mothers can meet their work requirements by attending high school.
        At the heart of all these proposals is a single commitment to return
    an ethic of work to an important place in all American lives.
        Secondly, we will work to strengthen marriage. As we reduce welfare
    caseloads, we must improve the lives of children. And the most
    effective, direct way to improve the lives of children is to encourage
    the stability of American families.
        Across America, no doubt about it, single mothers do heroic work.
    They have the toughest job in our country. Raising children by
    themselves is an incredibly hard job. In many cases, their lives and
    their children's lives would be better if their fathers had lived up to
    their responsibilities.
        Statistics tell us that children from two-parent families are less
    likely to end up in poverty, drop out of school, become addicted

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    to drugs, have a child out of wedlock, suffer abuse, or become a violent
    criminal and end up in prison. Building and preserving families are not
    always possible; I recognize that. But they should always be our goal.
        So my administration will give unprecedented support to
    strengthening marriages. Many good programs help couples who want to get
    married and stay married. Isn't that right? We just talked about one
    such program. Premarital education programs can increase happiness in
    marriage and reduce divorce by teaching couples how to resolve conflict,
    how to improve communication, and most importantly, how to treat each
    other with respect.
        There are also programs for couples with serious problems,
    alcoholism, infidelity, or gambling. Trained mentor couples who have had
    experience--who have experienced severe marital problems themselves now
    teach other couples how to repair their own marriages. Using this
    approach, one national program reports being able to save up to 70
    percent of very troubled marriages.
        Under the plan that I'm submitting, up to $300 million a year will
    be available to support innovation and to find programs which are most
    effective. You see, strong marriages and stable families are incredibly
    good for children. And stable families should be the central goal of
    American welfare policy.
        The welfare system can honor the family in other ways. Under current
    welfare law, State governments can keep some of a father's child support
    payments to defray the costs of welfare. I'll give States financial
    incentives to give more of a father's child support directly to his
    children, instead of putting it into the welfare system. Mothers and
    children will be better off, and the children will see that their father
    supports and cares for them.
        I'm also proposing $135 million for abstinence education programs.
    Abstinence is the surest way and the only completely effective way to
    prevent unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. When our
    children face a choice between self-restraint and self-destruction,
    Government should not be neutral. Government should not sell children
    short by assuming they are incapable of acting responsibly. We must
    promote the good choices.
        Third, we will give States greater flexibility in spending welfare
    money. Right now, there are hundreds--hundreds--of Federal Government
    programs to help low-income Americans achieve better lives.
    Unfortunately, recipients often find the different rules very confusing.
    Conflicting regulations are keeping people from getting the help they
    need when they need it.
        My proposal will provide waivers to allow States to completely
    redesign how many Federal programs would operate in their State. Rather
    than dictate to States how each major welfare and training program
    should operate, we must allow States to use their creativity to build a
    network of assistance for low-income families. Americans will get better
    childcare services and better job training and better housing and better
    nutrition programs if States have the flexibility and freedom to explore
    innovative ideas.
        And fourth, even as welfare reform proceeds, we must encourage the
    essential work of faith-based groups and charities. Work and
    independence are the goals of welfare reform. Yet, compassionate help
    for an abandoned child is not a work requirement; it is a loving mentor.
    The answer to addiction is not a demand for independence; it is personal
    support on the hard road to recovery.
        Charities and faith-based groups fill needs that no welfare system,
    no matter how well designed, can possibly fill. Our Nation needs men and
    women who rescue children from gangs, who tutor children in failed
    schools, who visit the sick and the dying. In times of personal crisis,
    people do not need the rules of a bureaucracy; they need the help of a
    neighbor.
        America's neighborhood healers, like the place we are today, are
    indispensable, are irreplaceable, and deserve our support. I support
    legislation that encourages charitable giving and ends discrimination
    against faith-based organizations that compete for contracts to provide
    social services to people who need help.
        Faith-based groups are reclaiming America, block by block, life by
    life, from the inside out. We must encourage their work without
    undermining their freedom or their

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    identity or their purpose. It is time for the United States Senate to
    pass the Faith-Based Initiative. The bill's sponsor, Rick Santorum, is
    here. I appreciate you, Mr. Senator, working hard. Get it out of the
    Senate, and get it on my desk for the good of the American people.
        And at the same time, we must recognize that our Government has
    responsibilities to help people who cannot help themselves, that we've
    got a responsibility to help people who need a transition, that need a
    helping hand. We've got that responsibility. My budget reflects that
    responsibility. And there's one area that we need to improve help on: We
    need to restore nutrition benefits for legal immigrants.
        The 1996 reforms imposed a 5-year ban on most welfare benefits for
    new legal immigrants, including a permanent ban on food stamps, unless
    immigrants have worked here for 10 years or have become citizens. We've
    proposed changing this law so that legal immigrants receive food stamps
    after 5 years, so that those who are eligible, those who need help, like
    an elderly immigrant farmworker, somebody who has worked hard all his
    life and cannot help himself, ought to get food stamps. Or a legal
    immigrant who has been working here for 5 years and raising a family and
    all a sudden gets laid off and needs a helping hand, ought to get food
    stamps.
        This Nation must show compassion in a time of a person's need. These
    are the important goals that I've--that I want to talk to Congress about
    when the welfare reauthorization bill comes up: work, families, more
    flexibility to States, and compassion--a compassionate welfare system
    that knows the true strength of the country lies in the hearts and souls
    of our fellow citizens.
        We can build on the advances of recent years, confident there's more
    progress to be made and, therefore, expand the promise of this Nation.
    More Americans will know the dignity of a job. More children will find
    shelter in strong families. More citizens will gain the tools to succeed
    in a free society. And more Americans in need will find love and hope
    that can help them rebuild their lives.
        Everyone can join in the work of welfare reform by serving a
    neighbor. Americans can heed that call in all kinds of ways, in local
    community groups. And if they're really interested, they can call the
    USA Freedom Corps or get on the Web site at usafreedomcorps.org to find
    out how you can help, how you can be a soldier in the armies of
    compassion, how you can put your good heart to work to make America a
    hopeful and strong and decent country for all of us.
        We've made progress; there's no question the doors of opportunity
    that were shut and sealed have now been opened. Ask some of the folks on
    the stage here. They had that door slammed in their face, and now it's
    open, and there's a brighter day ahead.
        Yet, there is no acceptable level of despair and hopelessness in
    America. We will not leave people in need to their own struggle, and we
    will not leave them to their own fate.
        The success of the past few years should not make us complacent as a
    nation. They prove what is possible when we press forward, and I am
    determined to press forward to build a single nation of justice and
    opportunity.
        May God bless America.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:53 p.m. in the gymnasium at St. Luke's
    Catholic Church. In his remarks, he referred to Robert L. Woodson, Sr.,
    founder and president, National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise;
    Curtis Watkins, executive director, East Capitol Center for Change; Gov.
    Scott McCallum of Wisconsin; Gov. Bill Owens of Colorado; and Gov. Don
    Sundquist of Tennessee. Public Law No. 104-193, approved August 22,
    1996, was the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
    Reconciliation Act of 1996.