Clinton Says 1.2 Million Have Left Welfare Rolls

President Clinton said Saturday that 1.2 million people have left the welfare rolls since he signed a law overhauling the public assistance system nearly a year ago but that much more needs to be done.

Clinton also used his weekly radio address to play a theme he has evoked repeatedly since he signed the welfare law last August--that private business must bear the brunt of hiring those who leave public assistance.

He also called on states, which administer the program, to use the money they save from reductions in their welfare rolls to finance child care, training and transportation for those who are finding work for the first time.

“I am pleased to announce today that there are 3 million fewer people on welfare than there were on the day I took office--a remarkable 1.2 million fewer since I signed welfare reform into law,” he said.

He recorded the address before he left early Saturday for a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Spain.

According to White House documents, the welfare caseload has dropped from 14.1 million in January 1993, when Clinton took office, to just under 11 million this April. Despite the decrease, Clinton said much greater efforts are necessary.

“If we expect people to work, we need to make sure there’s work for them to go to,” he said. “And we need to make sure that those with no previous work experience, without present connections to mainstream America, get both the preparation and the support they need to succeed.”

The welfare law Clinton signed in August 1996 ended the 61-year guarantee of federal aid for poor children, imposed a five-year lifetime limit on benefits and required people to begin working within two years of receiving benefits.

The president has often exhorted private business to hire people off welfare, saying that another 1 million must go from welfare to work within the next four years.

“To every businessperson who has ever criticized the old system, I say: That system is gone. It’s now up to you to help make the new system work,” he said. “If you have a business and can hire just one, it will be a great citizen service.”

In the Republican response broadcast later Saturday, Rep. Gerald B.H. Solomon of New York said a GOP tax proposal now before Congress would earmark 75% of tax cuts for middle-class households making less than $75,000 a year.

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“We’d rather shrink the welfare class and put the American dream of financial security and independence within the reach of as many middle-class people as possible,” said Solomon, who chairs the House Rules Committee.

The House and Senate last month passed separate versions of tax-cut legislation, followed by Clinton’s own plan. Final negotiations were to start soon to fashion one bill from the three proposals.