Clinton Threatens to Veto Welfare Bill

President Clinton, who for weeks has been hinting that he might approve a Republican welfare reform bill moving through Congress, is now promising to veto an even less sweeping version of the legislation pending in the Senate unless changes are made, a White House spokesman said Saturday.

“The welfare bill as it stands is unacceptable,” Press Secretary Mike McCurry told reporters.

Clinton had expressed concerns about some elements of the legislation that he regarded as too harsh on the poor, but he had never flatly said he would veto it if those provisions were not changed. Rather, administration officials had suggested that the president was willing to accept the measure, in part to fulfill his 1992 campaign promise “to end welfare as we know it.”

By threatening to veto the legislation, Clinton could satisfy Democratic critics who complain that he has moved too far to the right on welfare in an effort to boost his reelection prospects. At the same time, he gives Republican presidential challenger Bob Dole more opportunity to argue that Clinton does not want true welfare reform.

Clinton vetoed a welfare reform bill that Congress approved last year, an act Dole cites frequently in his campaign. The Dole campaign had no immediate comment on Clinton’s threat Saturday.

Although the White House had not said previously what the president would do with the current versions of the bill, Clinton had offered encouraging words about the GOP-led effort.

But with the Senate measure heading for a final vote this week, Democrats have turned up the pressure on Clinton to stand firm. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.), appearing Saturday on CNN’s “Evans & Novak,” pleaded with Clinton to veto the legislation if it reaches his desk.

“I pray God no children end up on the streets, roving in bands, out of control, a threat to themselves, danger to others, that we remember what we did,” Moynihan said. “We will all be to blame, and I will pray God for mercy.”

As written, the bill would end the federal guarantee of cash assistance to poor families with children, replacing it with a requirement that recipients go to work within two years of applying for welfare and limiting them to a total of five years of assistance in a lifetime.

Last week, the Senate turned back an amendment sponsored by Democrats and supported by Clinton to allow states to provide assistance in the form of vouchers to welfare recipients disqualified from receiving cash welfare benefits. Democrats intend to offer several other amendments Tuesday designed to weaken elements of the bill they consider too harsh.

If the measure clears the Senate this week, as expected, House and Senate negotiators will meet to work out differences between each chamber’s version of the bill. The House measure, approved two weeks ago, is considered to be tougher than the Senate version--and therefore even less acceptable to Clinton.

Republicans emphasize that their welfare proposals would save taxpayers about $61 billion over six years and allow states greater flexibility in tailoring programs.

However, Democrats contend that the GOP plan would hurt poor families and their children because of changes in such programs as food stamps. The Senate bill turns over control of the food stamp program to states but continues a level of federal funding in the form of unrestricted lump sum grants.

Republicans argue that states are better able than the federal government to assess the needs and design their own programs. Democrats counter that the new system would allow states to cut back on food assistance if the rolls expand at times of recession or natural disaster.

Last week, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) said Democrats have made child protection the prime consideration in their concerns over welfare reform. He cautioned that Senate Democrats are likely to reject the bill when it comes up for passage unless some provisions are softened.

“We want to protect children,” Daschle said. “If we fail on those amendments, my expectation is that a large percentage--perhaps almost all Democrats--will vote against” the bill.