Clinton: No Second Thoughts On Welfare Reform

By Kathleen Koch/CNN

WASHINGTON (June 18) -- In a speech to the American Nurses Association, President Bill Clinton announced two new executive actions to strengthen child support enforcement and disputed reports he may be pulling his backing for a Wisconsin welfare reform program.

The president praised the Wisconsin program for having tough time limits, but at the same time giving assurances of a job, health care and child care to people on welfare. (96K WAV sound) Clinton called the Wisconsin proposal "intriguing" and said he would approve it very soon.

A report in the Saturday New York Times alleged the administration was having doubts and second thoughts about the program.

In his talk, the president said he had signed two federal directives to crack down on deadbeat dads. One would establish a national locator system to track late-paying parents when they change jobs or move from state to state. (224K WAV sound)

Twenty-five states have "new-hire" programs that encourage employers to report new employees to a state agency which then matches those names against a list of parents who owe the state child support. When a match is found, the wages of the delinquent parent can be garnished.

Initially, only those states will participate, though the president challenged the remaining states to help make the system operational nationwide.

"I want every state in the country, the other 25, to give us this information so that these people who do not pay their child support have nowhere to hide," Clinton said.

The second directive would require mothers to give the name of their child's father and other identifying information when applying for welfare benefits. The president said there would be good cause exceptions such as those required to protect a mother from domestic violence.

The measure would mandate that the welfare office contact child support authorities within two days to begin legal proceedings to hold fathers responsible for support. If the identified father denied paternity, the family would still receive welfare benefits while the matter was under litigation.

"Our system should say to mothers, if you want our help, help us to identify and locate the father so he can be held accountable as well," said the President. "And it should say to fathers, we're not going to let you just walk away from your children and stick the taxpayers with the tab. The government did not bring the child into the world, you did."(192K WAV sound)

White House spokesman Mike McCurry said these directives go significantly beyond other steps the White House has taken to crack down on deadbeat dads. The expense of the programs would be offset by savings realized from the increased child support payments from the parents located, he said.

The president also announced that his adminstration has approved New Hampshire's experimental welfare reform project, "The New Hampshire Employment Program." New Hampshire is the 40th state to receive approval for a welfare waiver under the Clinton Administration.

Earlier in the speech, Clinton took a jab at Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole's recent remark that tobacco isn't addictive.

"We know, not withstanding some political voices who say this is no big deal and some people can deal with it and some can't, we know it is illegal to sell cigarettes to children in every state in the country," he said.

"But every day 3,000 underage Americans start to smoke," he said. "If we want to improve health care in America, why don't all those people who say that is what they want to do stand up and be counted, and do what we need to do to restrict the advertising and marketing and sale of tobacco products to young people in this country."

Clinton: No Second Thoughts On Welfare Reform

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