ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 8, 1996 TAG: 9612090118
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
U.S. welfare rolls have dropped 15 percent - a total of 2.1 million people - in the past four years, President Clinton said Saturday, adding that the statistics are proof that his promise to ``end welfare as we know it'' is paying off.
``We were determined to move millions from welfare to work, and our strategy has worked,'' the president said in his weekly radio address. He described the decline as ``the biggest drop in welfare rolls in history.''
According to the White House, the number of people receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children dropped to 12 million in September, from 14.1 million in January 1993, when Clinton took office.
During the same period, the number of families receiving AFDC dropped 13 percent, from 4.9 million to 4.3 million, the White House said.
Release of the welfare figures comes as the United States is overhauling its 61-year-old system of federal assistance for the poor.
Under legislation Clinton signed in August, welfare recipients will be required to begin working within two years of entering the system. And for the first time, there will be a cap on benefits: No one will be permitted to receive more than five cumulative years of welfare payments.
The bill has aroused the ire of some Democrats who say it cuts too deeply into the federal safety net for the poor. And Clinton himself has expressed reservations about it, pledging to correct ``serious flaws,'' such as cuts in food stamps and the elimination of assistance to some legal immigrants.
But he gave no indication Saturday of what changes he might seek. Rather, he defended the law.
``When I signed the historic welfare reform law, we set out to honor a moral obligation for our nation, to help many people in our national community to help themselves,'' Clinton said. ``This law dramatically changes the nation's welfare system so that no longer will it fail our people, trap so many families in a cycle of dependency, but instead will now help people to move from welfare to work.''
In the GOP response to the radio address, Sen. Dan Coats of Indiana challenged Clinton to find ``creative ways'' to cut back on welfare through private initiatives. He called for bipartisan support of a ``charity tax credit'' in which Americans would be permitted to take $500 of what they owe in taxes each year and donate it directly to local charities that fight poverty.
LENGTH: Medium: 52 linesby CNB