Gore Offers Ultimatum to ‘Deadbeat’ Dads

Vice President Al Gore on Wednesday unveiled his vision of “the next generation of welfare reform,” saying that he would require “deadbeat” dads to go to work and pay up or go to jail.

Gore said he would go so far as to “challenge” credit card companies to deny new cards or additional lines of credit to delinquent fathers.

“Promoting responsible fatherhood is the critical next phase of welfare reform and one of the most important things we can do to reduce child poverty,” Gore said.

The vice president’s anti-poverty agenda relies on a combination of incentives and enforcement, offering not only work requirements but also career counseling, job training and simple friendship.

“Yes, there are lots of deadbeat dads. There also are many dead-broke dads,” he told a supportive audience in a Washington church.

Gore’s proposals came just one day before former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley, his only rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, is to deliver his proposal on child poverty.

But in an interview, the vice president denied that he is trying to upstage Bradley. “I’ve worked on this issue for nine years. The timing of a speech by others may be related to the campaign; the timing of my initiative is related to a nearly decade-long involvement in this area,” he said.

Gore said he is focusing on ways to increase fathers’ involvement in parenting because studies show that children living without fathers are five times more likely to be poor than children living with both parents.

By targeting “deadbeat” dads, Gore’s agenda is likely to appeal especially to women--a crucial base of support to Gore.

The vice president’s aides pointed out that his proposal cracks down on “deadbeat” dads in the same way that welfare reform cut off aid to women who do not find jobs after two years.

As a condition of receiving federal child support funds, Gore said states should require a go-to-work policy. He did not offer more details, nor did he estimate a cost for the plan. This approach is based on a 3-year-old program in Tampa, Fla., that requires noncustodial parents who are not making child support payments to enroll in an assistance program that places them in jobs. If they do not go to work--and pay up--they can be jailed.

So far the program has resulted in child support payments to 4,600 children who would not otherwise have received them, according to officials at the Gulf Coast Jewish Family Services Inc., which administers the Tampa-area program.

Gore said he also would require fathers to sign “personal responsibility contracts” that acknowledge paternity and pledge to pay child support as a condition of receiving help from the welfare-to-work program.

When the vice president noted that most women already are required to sign such a pledge, many women in the audience of about 100 shouted out their approval and broke into applause.

“I want to lead the next generation of welfare reform that will ask fathers to step up to their responsibility,” Gore said.

To help credit card companies meet his “challenge” of denying delinquent parents new credit cards and lines of credit, Gore would have the federal government provide “timely data” on them directly to credit bureaus, rather than relying on state reporting.

The vice president’s program also includes grants to community and faith-based organizations that teach parenting and marital skills.

The vice president touted his anti-poverty agenda during an hourlong discussion with about a dozen parents, their children and social workers at the Congress Heights United Methodist Church.

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Times political writer Ronald Brownstein contributed to this story.