Welfare Reform vs. Politics : As Washington stalls, the states--including California--suffer

Perhaps President Clinton and congressional leaders--including his presumed Republican rival for the presidency, Sen. Bob Dole--believe they have nothing to gain politically by forging welfare reform during this contentious election season. They’re wrong. Beyond the Beltway, states are hamstrung by the inaction in Washington. The paralyzing stalemate already threatens to blow a $1.6-billion hole in California’s state budget over the next two years and to put Gov. Pete Wilson’s ambitious welfare redesign on hold.

The Wilson administration was confident that Congress and the White House were poised to provide block grants of federal welfare money and allow states greater freedom to develop their own programs. Now those expectations have been shelved.

Though far from perfect, the governor’s plan did promise to allow poor fathers who could not provide for their children to stay with their families nevertheless, without jeopardizing the family welfare payments. For decades, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, the nation’s largest welfare program, required the absence of fathers in the household before the money flowed. Wilson’s plan made human sense. It would have encouraged fathers to stay in the home and helped to curb unwed motherhood, unhappily now a runaway trend.

The plan’s dramatic savings were expected to come from the imposition of a time limit on welfare, a cashless voucher system for recipients who refused to work or attend training classes, and another round of deep cuts in welfare checks. These proposals would require a full debate in Sacramento to ensure that changes would not punish poor children who need government aid. But with reform stalled in Washington, California will be hard-pressed to realize any big savings beyond the returns generated by the highly successful GAIN work program, which has lifted many men and women off the welfare rolls.

So the state debate is on hold until Congress acts. The next proposal expected in Washington stems from GOP governors, who have prompted a bill likely to be introduced this week. It’s flawed but nonetheless a starting point. However, the bill can go nowhere without Democratic support on Capitol Hill and in the White House.

President Clinton promised during his first run for the White House to change welfare as we know it. House Republicans led by Speaker Newt Gingrich promised at the start of this congressional session to revamp welfare and encourage greater individual responsibility. There are some good proposals on welfare reform in the hopper. Too bad politics keeps getting in the way.