It is a tax credit that people with low incomes receive as a kind of bonus for working, the more they earn, the larger the tax credit up to a certain point. Then that, clinton and first Lady Hillary Clinton were engaged in a deeply divisive with congress and the American People in general that the future of the health care system. Clintons efforts to Reform Health care at the time failed, so the white house was occupied with health care at the time. And then in 1995, a new congress was inaugurated. This congress was controlled by republicans. That led to a year and a half of haggling between republicans and congress and the white house over what kind of welfare reform would ultimately be enacted. Eventually in the summer of 1996, almost 20 years ago to the day, clinton signed the welfare reform bill. That bill was signed in 1996. What were some of the key changes it made in the welfare system . Max i think the most important change is that welfare can no longer be taken for granted. People who were receiving federal cash assistance either had to be working, looking for a job, or they had to be engaged in some Vocational Training program. After the bill was enacted, it was impossible for anyone in the country to receive welfare without doing something related to work. Either working, or putting themselves in the position where they could find a job. In that sense, clinton did fulfill his hamas to and welfare as we know it. In the old system, people could receive cash benefits from the federal government, and the requirements for working were much less stringent. Here we are 20 years later in 2016. What has been the impact of those changes over time . Max thats a difficult question to answer because of course, during the Clinton Administration, American Society was changing in other ways. For example, there was a changing perception around whether or not women should stay at home with their children, or whether or not they should go to work, as well as fulfilling the duty of motherhood. Many women were going to work, who had not worked before. Also, the economy was doing very well. This Strong Economy gave women an additional reason to go to work. The number of women i should say the number of unmarried women who were participating in the labor force increased from about 53 in 1991 to a most 76 in 2000. It was a dramatic and abrupt shift, and it was partly due to these changes in the economy and society, but it was also due to the changes in the law. The law required people to work if they wanted to receive federal cash assistance. Another important effect that the law has had has been on different kinds of people who are living in poverty. For people who were able to find fulltime work after the law was passed, the fact that the armed income tax credit had been expanded meant that their wages were supplemented with a tax credit from the federal government. They were much better off financially than similarly situated people were before clinton and acted his poverty policies, including the tax credit and the welfare reform bill. People who were not able to fulfill the new requirements for work and training and searching for employment that the new law created, generally found themselves worse off. There is evidence that poverty became narrower as a result of clintons reforms, but it also became deeper. Those who remained in poverty were more in dire straits. President bill clintons efforts to change Welfare Programs dated back to his days as arkansas governor. Following the republican takeover of congress in 1994, president clinton delivered a state of the Union Address where he repeated his desire to, and welfare as we know it or go. President clinton nothing has done more to undermine our sense of common responsibility than our fellow failed welfare system. This is one of the problems we have to face here in washington. It undermines family values. It lets millions of parents get away without paying their Child Support. It keeps a minority, but a significant minority of the people on welfare trapped on it for a very long time. I have worked on this problem for a long time nearly 15 years. As a governor, i had the honor of working with the Reagan Administration to write the last welfare reform bill back in 1988. In the last two years, we made a good start with continuing to work on welfare reform. Our administration gave two dozen states the right to slash through federal rules and regulations, to reform their own welfare systems and try to promote work and responsibility of their welfare dependency. Last year, i introduced the most sweeping welfare reform plan ever presented by an administration. We have to make welfare what it was meant to me, a second chance, not a way of life. We have to help those on welfare moved to work as quickly as possible. Provide childcare and teach them skills if that is what they need. After that, there ought to be a simple rule, anyone who can work must go to work. [applause] president clinton if a parent isnt paying Child Support, they should be forced to pay. [applause] president clinton we should suspend drivers license, track them across state lines, make them work off what they own. Governments do not raise children, people do, and the parents must take responsibility for the children they bring into this world. [applause] president clinton i want to work with you, with all of you, to pass welfare reform. Our goal must be to liberate people and lift them up. From welfare to work. From your childbearing to responsible parenting. Al gore should not be to punish them because they happen to be poor. [applause] our goal should not be to punish them because they happen to be poor. [applause] president clinton we should not cut people off just because theyre poor, young, or unmarried. We should promote responsibility by requiring Young Mothers to live at home with their parents or other supervised settings. By requiring them to finish school, but we should not put them and their children out on the street. [applause] president clinton i know all the arguments, pro and con, and i have thought about this for a long time. I still do not think we can punish poor children for the mistakes of their parents. [applause] president clinton my fellow americans, every single survey shows that all the American People care about this. Let this be the year we end welfare as we know it, but also let this be the year that we are all able to stop using this issue to divide america. No one is more eager to and welfare. [applause] president clinton i may be the only president who has actually had the opportunity to sit in the Welfare Office. Who has actually spent hours talking to people on welfare. I am telling you, the people who are trapped on it know it does not work. They also want to get off. We can promote together education and work and good parenting. I have no problem with punishing bad behavior for the refusal to be a worker or student. I just dont want to punish poverty and past mistakes. All of us have made our mistakes. None of us can change our yesterdays, but everyone of us can change our tomorrows. [applause] you are watching cspans special Program Marking the 20th anniversary of the 1996 welfare law. President clinton vetoed two welfare bills before signaling his support for a third piece of legislation in 1996. It passed the house with overwhelming support from republicans. 328101. The senate vote was 7821. Here is a look at the debate that took place in the days leading up to the final passage. Mr. Speaker, sadly it seems clear that the house will abdicate its moral duty and knowingly vote to allow children to go hungry in america. Sadly, our president , a member of the Democratic Party will sign this bill. Does this bill allocate sufficient funds to provide employment for people who want to work . No. Does this bill provide adequate childcare so people can leave their parents children in a safe environment . No. Does this insure that people with welfare can take their kids to a doctor . No. Does this do anything to raise wages so people can work hard and not see their children grow up in poverty . No. Does this reduced the value of the stamps for children to push these children into poverty and hunger . Yes. I know that scapegoating poor children is politically popular this year, but it is not right. We must stand up for our countrys children. I urge my colleagues to reject this immoral legislation. The gentleman from florida. I had two minutes to the gentleman from georgia. The gentleman from georgia is recognized for a. Of two minutes. Mr. Speaker, the bill we are considering today is a bad though. I will vote against it and i urge all people of conscience to vote against it. It penalizes children for the action of their parents. This bill will put one million more children into poverty. How can any person of conscience vote for a bill to puts one million markets into poverty . Where is the compassion . Where is the heart of this congress . This bill is mean. It is downright lowdown. We are a great nation, but to the man on the moon as a nation and as a people, as a government, we met our challenges, and we won. This bill gives up. It throws in the towel. We cannot run away from our challenges and our responsibility. This is not the character of a great nation. I ask you, mr. Speaker, what does it cost a great nation to cover the world, only to lose its soul . This is an abandonment of morality. It is wrong. It was Hubert Humphrey who said now children, those in the sickght of life, and those and feeble, what we are doing here today is wrong. I say to all of you my colleagues, you have the ability, you have the capacity, you have the power. Theustments gentlemans time is expired. Raise your voice for the poor and the disabled. Vote no. The gentleman will suspend. Mr. Speaker i come over here to do something i have never done before, and that is to trespass on the democrats side. Meope that you will give your understanding in my doing so because i dont do out of smugness or arrogance, i do out of coming together. We have heard a lot of names calling. A lot of soundbites we have heard. We have come down a long road together. That theevitable present welfare system was going to be put behind us. Need to bring to closure an era of a failed welfare system. I know that the democrats agree with the republicans. This is not a republican bill we are shutting down your throats. We are going to get a lot of democrats support today. The larger the support the more chance there is for this to really work. To the degree of the success we have is going to be a victory for the American People. It is time for us to put our hand out to one another and to come together to solve the problems of the poor. Without vision the people will perish. Unfortunately we would not have vision and our welfare system now for many years. It has been allowed to sit stagnant. Layere piled layer upon upon humanity and each other. We pay people not to get married , we pay people not to work. This is selfdestructive behavior. We all agree with that. , manye heard many spirits speakers, thinking we are going the wrong way. Some of my colleagues have fought for different changes within the welfare bill, within the human resources. This is a perfect bill i can say and stand here and say it is not a perfect bill. It is as good as we can come together. How they feel that they can be successful. We talked to many members on the democrats side. We have another long road ahead of us. We need to get to make technical corrections bill as we see problems arise in this bill that we are going to be passing today. It was unexpected to hear that the president was going to a known going to endorse this. Lets now be patient with each other, lets work with each other. Thank you mr. Speaker. I rise in opposition to the bill. If this bill passes today it will be a victory for the political spin artist and a defeat for the children of america. We all agree that the welfare system must be reformed, but we must make sure that reform reduces poverty, not by bashing poor people but i have a real reform. This bill will diminish the quality of the life of children and poor families in america and will have a devastating impact on the economy of our city. Result ints will increased hunger. Local government will be forced to pay for the federal governments abdication of responsibility. How can a country as great as america ignored the needs of americas children who are born into poverty . The bible tells us that to minister to the needs of gods children is an act of worship. To ignore those needs is to dishonor the god who made them. Mr. Speaker, lets not go down that path today. Thank you, mr. Speaker. The gentleman from florida. Mr. Speaker, i got the balance of my time to the distinguished german of the budget committee, mr. Kasich. The gentleman from ohio is acknowledged. I would like to congratulate the gentleman from florida for his relentlessness in being able to pursue welfare reform. He do it he deserves the lions share of credit. Although i dont see him on the floor, a very able staff director who has lived with this bill he has lived with this for about a decade, feeling passionately about the need to reform welfare. It was Pretty Amazing to watch the president of the United States come on television and say he was going to sign this welfare bill. The reason why it is so amazing today is that because the American People, during all of my adult lifetime, have said that they wanted a system that will help people who cant help themselves, but they want a system that is going to ask the ablebodied to get out and begin to work themselves. This has been delayed and put off and a million excuses as to why we could not get it done. I want to suggest to my friends who are in opposition i respect their opposition. Many of them just didnt talk, many of them were not able to talk as they were beaten in the civil rights protest in this country. I respect their opposition. The simple fact of the matter is this program was losing public support. The cynicism connected to this program from the folks who get up and go to work every day for a living, and i dont mean the most fortunate, i mean those mothers and fathers who have had to struggle for an entire lifetime to make and meet. They have never asked for food stamps. They have never asked for welfare. They have never asked for housing. They are struggling. They dont take the bus. They dont take the transparent the transfer because it costs money. These people are becoming cynical. They were being poisoned in regard to the system, and they were demanding change. We all know as we have watched the history of congress over the decades, that when the American People speak, we must deliver what they want. They said they wanted the vietnam war over. It took a decade, but they got it. Public cynicism and lack of support was rising against this program. It was necessary to give the people a program they could support. The American People have never if i could be so bold as to represent a point of view have never said that those who cant help themselves should not be helped. That is judeo christianity, something that we all know has to be rekindled. Our souls must once again become attached to one another. The people in this country said it is a sin not to help somebody who needs help. It is equally is said to help somebody who needs not to learn how to help themselves. I say to my friends who oppose this bill, this is about the best of us. This is about having hopes and dreams. After 40 or 50 years of not trusting one another in our neighborhoods and having to vacate our power to the central government, this is now about reclaiming our power. Its about reclaiming our money. Its about rebuilding our communities. Its about rebuilding our families. Its about cementing our neighborhoods. Its about believing that all of us can march to that state capital, but all of us can go into the community organizations, and we can demand excellence. We can demand compassion. We can do it better. We marched 40 years ago because we thought people werent being treated fairly. We marched today for the very same reason. Let me take it back and say many of my friends marched. I was too young, but i watched and i respect it. What i suggest that the end of the day is that we all are going to have to stand up for those who get neglected in reform. Frankly, this system will provide far more benefits, far more hope, restore the confidence in the American People that we have a system that will help those that cant help themselves, and at the same time, demand something from ablebodied people who can. It will benefit their children. It will help the children of those who go to work. America is a winner in this. The president of the United States has recognized it. He has joined with this congress. I think we have a bipartisan effort here to move america down the road towards reclaiming our neighborhoods and helping america. I would say to my friends, we will be bold enough and humble enough when we see mistakes are being made to be able to come back and fix them. Lets not let these obstacles stand in the way of rebuilding this Program Based on fundamental american values. For those who say were not going to provide for those in need. Hardly a reduction in expenditures. Let me repeat the total programs i have described, food stamps, nutrition, the program for child care, the new blog grant to take the place of afdc which we will call temporary systems for needy families, all of those programs will seek from the taxpayers of america 700 billion over the next six years. Nevertheless, our taxpayers should know that we will save. We will save them about 55 billion for this program in its reformed in and more efficient mode. It will cost 55 billion less and it was assumed if we had left everything alone and kept entitlements wherever they were i believe much of those savings will come because we are going to do the programs that turf. We are going to push people to do what we should have been doing all along. It off the rolls and into work. Get off dependence into independence. Not looking to someone else for responsibility and look to their own responsibility and everywhere we turn in this deal, there are provisions for those who