For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 10, 2002
President Calls for Ticket to Independence in Welfare Reform
Remarks by the President on Welfare - Columbus, Ohio
St. Stephen's Community House
Columbus, Ohio
THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for that warm Columbus, Ohio, welcome. It's
nice to be back home -- well. (Laughter and applause.) I say
"home" because my grandfather was raised here. (Applause.) Prescott S.
Bush, raised right here in Columbus, Ohio.
I want to thank you all for coming. I'm here -- I want to talk
about
welfare today. I want to talk about how we make sure that we
continue on
the progress that we have made since 1996. Millions of Americans
no
longer are dependent upon government, and that's incredibly
positive, not
only for America but, more importantly, for each individual. It
brings
dignity to someone's life when they're on their own and
successful.
The Congress is going to take up a reauthorization, they call it in
Washington speak, of this legislation. And I've got an idea how
best to
make it work, continue the reforms and how to make it work better
for
Americans. We're really here to talk about the dignity and worth
of each
individual American.
And joining me today is a man who understands that, is my Secretary
of Health and Human Services, Tommy Thompson. Tommy was the governor
of Wisconsin, who in 1996 helped lead the nation in getting a welfare
reform bill that helped people -- but also showed what is possible when
you trust local officials, when you give them the flexibility necessary
to design a program to meet the needs of the citizens of a community or
a state. Tommy did a fabulous job as the governor of Wisconsin in
helping people, and he's doing a great job as the Secretary of Health
and Human Services. (Applause.)
I want to thank your governor. He's a long-time friend of mine.
He's a man who, when we look out of Washington which we need to do a
lot of, by the way and look down at the states, it gives us great
comfort to know that Governor Taft would be in a position to help
implement and start and encourage the programs necessary to help
people, whether it be in education or in helping people become less
dependent upon government. And I want to thank you, Bob, for your
service and thank you for your leadership. I'm honored to call you
friend and that people of Ohio are honored to call you governor.
(Applause.)
I want to thank my friend, former governor, a man with whom Tommy
and I served as governors, who is now the United States senator from
the state of Ohio, George Voinovich. George is traveling with us
today. I'm honored that you're here, George. (Applause.)
Deborah Pryce, Pat Tiberi, Bob Ney, David Hobson and Rob Portman,
all members of a fantastic congressional delegation, are with us today
as well. I want to thank you all for traveling here today and thank
you for your friendship. (Applause.)
I want to thank Michael Coleman, the mayor of Columbus, for joining
us today. Mr. Mayor, thank you for being here. Appreciate you
coming. (Applause.)
I want to thank the executive director of St. Stephen's Community
House for letting us come. (Applause.)
Today, when I landed at the airport, I was greeted by a fellow
named Gabe Wilson, who is a high school senior here. He's a fellow
that takes time out of his day to help educate younger kids about the
dangers of drug use.
The reason I welcome Gabe and introduce him is because he
understands that America can be better off one person at a time. I
like to put it this way: one person can't do everything, but one
person can do something to help. He's a member of the army of the
soldiers -- he's a soldier in the army of compassion. Where are you,
Gabe? Gabe, thank you for coming. (Applause.)
You know, we've got big challenges ahead of our nation. Obviously,
one of the great challenges is to make sure that we protect our
homeland; is to prevent the killers from harming any American; to do
everything we can to chase them down and bring them to justice. That's
a key priority, obviously, for me and my administration. It's a key
priority to make the world peaceful, to seek the peace.
It's probably going to have to be a little tough to get there; have
to defend our values, stand up for what we believe; not let people harm
us. But we seek the peace. We seek the peace. We work to make the
world more secure. But as we do so, we need to make -- work hard to
make the world better, too, a better place. The best place to start is
here at home. The best place to start is to make sure every child gets
educated in America, I mean every child. (Applause.)
Got good legislation that we passed. Believe it or not, actually
Republicans and Democrats worked together to get it done. We put aside
our political parties and focused on what was right for America. And
that's important, that's important. And we need to do the same thing
on helping people who are on welfare. We need to set aside our
political parties, and focus on what is best for the American people.
Let's do what works. Let's make sure that we help people.
So today I do want to talk about welfare reform. We've come to
St. Stephen's Community House because it is a living example of
flexibility in the welfare law, what it means. It is a living example
of what we call a one-stop center, where people who need help are able
to come and find help to help themselves. I understand that this is a
-- kind of a welcoming center for people who are transitioning, a place
where people can find all-important job training or child care or
counseling -- just the help they need.
I am impressed by the programs that are here in the building, and
equally impressed by the fact that the county has taken a strong and
active role, the United Way has taken an active role, the Catholic
Church plays an active role here at St. Stephen's. And so do other
individuals and community groups. It's important for there to be a
collaborative effort in helping people, and this center recognizes
that. It welcomes all the social entrepreneurs who are willing to
help.
As we reauthorize the welfare bill it is essential that we always
remember the importance of work in our society; that work helps people
achieve the dignity in their lives. If you believe that every person
has got value, like I believe, then we ought to help that person find
work. It's the cornerstone of the last -- one of the cornerstones of
the last welfare reform bills that has worked, by the way. It is
successful and it ought to be the cornerstone of the reauthorization.
If work made a huge difference in people's lives as a result of the '96
bill, it ought to be a significant part of the reauthorization.
And so Congress must understand the power of work and we must
continue with time limits and high goals and high expectations. Within
five years, 70 percent of the welfare recipients must work. We're
saying, from the time the bill is reauthorized until five years later,
the goal is that 70 percent of those on welfare, those remaining on
welfare, must find a job.
Oh, I've heard them complain about that's too high a goal. It's
not too high a goal if it helps a person that helps a person. If it
brings dignity into someone's life, it is not too high a goal.
(Applause.)
And we're going to help. That's what St. Stephen's is here for.
That's why we've got to have flexibility. We want to help people find
the work. Right, Dannetta? I need to let Dannetta get up here and
talk. She knows what she's talking about.
She said to us, in a meeting we had before, she said the most
important thing in the success of the '96 bill was there to be time
limits on people being able to stay on welfare; that there be a time
certain, so that people get moving.
I not only believe there ought to be time limits, I believe there
ought to be strict goals, too; high expectations. The higher the
expectations, the more likely it is people are going to succeed.
As part of the 40-hour work week requirement, of course, we
recognize that people need education and vocational help. And so part
of meeting the work requirement is to allow for two days each week for
vocational training and educational training. So in other words, part
of the vision is to say you'll get work, we want to help you get work;
and we recognize the importance of job training and vocational training
to help people find the skills necessary to find jobs that actually
exist, like they do right here at St. Stephen's.
Now, one of the keys to make sure -- now, if we set high goals and
high standards and high expectations, we've got to recognize that it's
important to give flexibility to states and local authorities to
achieve those goals. In order to achieve the expectations, you've got
to trust local people. If you don't trust local people, it means
everybody in Washington is making the decision. It's not going to work
with everybody in Washington making the decision. There needs to be
flexibility.
I was struck today on our discussions about the fact that a lot of
folks from Somalia have come to Columbus. I met a young lady -- there
she is -- who came from Somalia, who came -- barely speak English, she
got help. Needed job skills, she got help. She now owns her own
business in America, because the program had flexibility to meet her
particular needs. And we need to have flexibility. As we call it, the
ticket to independence, that gives states the freedom to innovate, and
to create programs that meet local needs.
Oh, some in Washington don't like that because they want to control
everything out of Washington. But if you're interested in helping
people, we've got to empower people at the local level to help people
in need. (Applause.)
I'll give you an example of some of the roadblocks that federal
regulations create. All the rules; all the fine print, Mr. Mayor; all
the thick layers of booklets. The governor's explained to me this
case, and it's interesting. There's a single mom with two daughters
here in Ohio. One of the daughters is disabled, and the other daughter
is working at she's 17 years old to help the family. She's working
part time.
Because she was 17 years old, her income didn't count in the
formula to decide whether or not the family was eligible for food
stamps. Guess what happened on her 18th birthday? All of a sudden,
her income, because of a rule or regulation, starts to count. Even
though the income level of the family didn't increase, they lost their
food stamps.
Now, that's not what a compassionate America is all about. When
people need help, we need to help them. Now, it's conservative to
trust local people, but it's compassionate to provide flexibility so
that rules and regulations don't prevent people from getting the help
we want them to get. (Applause.) What ought to happen is the state of
Ohio should have the flexibility necessary to allow that young girl and
her family to receive food stamps as a transition period to full-time
employment. In other words, it ought to be a part of the transition
from welfare to work. But that's not the way the food stamp program
works.
And I'll tell you what else happens with a system that is too
bureaucratic and too focused on rules and regulations. The
administrative costs of these programs end up putting money not in the
pockets of people we're trying to help, but in -- as a result of the
bean counters, you know, how do you keep track of what's going on? The
more complicated the rules and regulations out of Washington, the more
money states have to spend to account for the money.
And I'll give you an example. On the food stamp program here, the
state of Ohio spent $192 million administering the program. The
program provides $573 million of benefits. That is a high cost per
dollar delivered. It's about 25 percent overhead cost. Now, I'll tell
you, a lot of that money -- with fewer rules and regulations, a lot of
that money would end up going to benefit people.
And that's important for the American people to understand. The
more regulations there are out of Washington, the more complex the
Washington, D.C. regulations are, the more likely it is money is not
going to end up helping people. And therefore, for the good of the
people we're trying to help, flexibility out of Washington --
no-strings-attached type legislation -- not only will help people,
it'll be more efficient with our taxpayer's money.
After all, if you look at the success the TANF program, the
Temporary Assistance to Needy Family program, the overhead cost in
those programs as a result of the flexibility at the local level is
only 10 percent, is only 10 percent. I hope Congress understands that
granting states flexibility not only will help people we're trying to
help, but will make it easier to spend our dollars in a more efficient
way. (Applause.)
We had some great success -- we met with some great success
stories. Joseph, where are you? Joseph is a man, as a result of
flexibility in the program in Dayton, Ohio, Dannetta was able to take
some TANF funds and some work assistance funds, and Joseph is now
becoming a computer expert. Yes, he's going to end up -- (applause.)
One of the important things about the future of our country is to
remember some important values. One of the most important values in
America is our family values, the importance of family in our country.
Now, look, I recognize that not every marriage is going to survive, I
know that. And I recognize some folks, you know, are just going to
find it impossible to stay married, and I know that. But I firmly
believe that in order to make the welfare program work, in order to
help people, that wherever couples seek help in trying to figure out
how to save a marriage, our government ought to be responsive to that
need. (Applause.)
The statistics show that when moms and dads raise a child, when
moms and dads stay together, that child is much more likely to
succeed. It's an important -- it's never to diminish the fact
listen, being a single mom raising a child is the toughest job in
America. I know that. But wherever possible, we ought to promote and
encourage programs that help save marriage, foster family, encourage
families. That ought to be a focus of the welfare reform. We've got
money in the budget to do just that.
Today, we met with Melvin and Rhonda Tuggle. Where are the
Tuggles? There they are. Thank you all for coming.
These are folks that had -- that had children, they had income, but
it was certainly not enough to meet the needs of their three children.
The economic struggle put a huge strain on their marriage. They split
apart.
Thankfully, in the city of Cincinnati, Rhonda sought help, sought a
job training program to help her out. But one of the interesting
things that she found in the program was the willingness of the folks
there to help work to save her marriage.
In other words, you know, in a compartmentalized world, no one ever
would have thought to have a marriage counseling be a part of somebody
trying to help find a job. But these good people did. They understood
the importance of family, the importance of encouraging moms and dads
to stay together.
As a result of a social entrepreneur working hard to help save a
soul, the Tuggles not only have helped improve themselves by better job
training and better jobs, but they received the counseling necessary to
encourage them to stay married. They had another child. They're
together. Their four children now have a much better future as a
result of the decision they made.
We must have the courage in America to promote and encourage stable
families for the good of our children. (Applause.) It's also
important to help our young children learn to make right choices in
life, to help them understand consequences of choices. One of the
parts of our welfare reform, reauthorization, is to promote abstinence,
is to be willing as a society (applause). I've heard all the
reasons why we shouldn't. Let me give you a reason why we should: it
works every time. (Laughter and applause.)
And finally, in order to complete our welfare vision, which says
we're going to help everybody in America, that every individual has got
worth and dignity, we must not be afraid to rally faith-based programs
in America. (Applause.) There's legislation in Washington that will
encourage charitable giving, allow non-itemizers to deduct their
charitable gifts, which the experts tell me will increase charitable
giving immeasurably in America, and that's good; it's important.
Part of the legislation, the faith-based initiative which has
passed the House and hasn't passed the Senate yet it needs to get
out of the Senate, by the way is to recognize that our government
should allow faith-based programs to access federal dollars, to help
people in need without causing them to have to lose the heart and soul
of their mission. (Applause.)
Government has got to recognize that love and compassion are
oftentimes the result of strong faith. In order to help heal broken
hearts and save broken lives we need love and compassion. There are
pockets of despair and hopelessness in America that we must be
addressing. Money helps, obviously. But it cannot put faith in
people's lives, or hope. That requires compassion and decency.
I talk a lot in America about this war on terror, obviously. Part
of my job is to educate the American people about how long it's going
to take to defend ourselves. And it's going to take a while. But I
also tell people, and I truly believe this, that out of the evil done
to America can come incredible good. Part of the good is going to be
peace. Part of the good is going to be a more compassionate America.
My call to the good folks of Columbus, Ohio, is to become involved
in helping a neighbor in need. If you really want to join the war
against terror, do some good. People say, how can I fight the war
against terror? And the answer is, love your neighbor just like you'd
like to be loved yourself. (Applause.)
The faith-based initiative relates to welfare that way. Loving a
neighbor just like you'd like to be loved yourself is the natural
extension of welfare reform. The best way to save some folks from drug
and alcohol abuse is to recognize faith can change hearts, and
therefore change lives. The best way to help a child who may wonder
whether or not he or she has a future in America -- and there's a lot
who wonder that -- is to encourage a loving mentor, and welcome a
loving mentor in their lives. The best way to encourage the homeless
to recognize that there -- somebody cares, is for a church or a
synagogue or a mosque to rally a program to help the homeless.
No, this is a great country, because we're full of great people.
The strength of our country is not really in the halls of government --
our system is great, it's magnificent -- but the true strength of
America lies in the fact that there are millions of Americans who want
to help a neighbor in need. The role of the government is to recognize
that power and that goodness of the American people, and structure our
welfare laws that welcome and encourage and foster the greatness of the
country.
Every American has got dignity. Every American has got value. And
we want to make sure our laws welcome that -- understand that. This is
a welcoming country. And when we get the welfare reauthorization bill
right, it's going to be even more welcoming.
Listen, thank you for letting me come and talk to you all. You
live in the greatest country in the face of the earth. May God bless
you all. (Applause.)