Remarks on the welfare reform agenda

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, March 4, 2002

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 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.