Romney Campaign Attacks Obama on Welfare
August 7-9, 2012 - Over two-plus days the Romney campaign launched a full-scale barrage charging President Obama with dismantling welfare reform.  The assault started with release of the Romney for President/RNC coordinated ad "Right Choice," announced in a press release received at 5:46 AM on August 7.  Romney spoke on the subject in a campaign appearance and on FOX News, and throughout the day the campaign issued at least eleven email communications pounding home its point. 

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney rebutted the charge in his daily briefing.  Obama for America held a press conference call at 3:30 PM ET/2:30 PM CT featuring John Podesta, former White House Chief of Staff for President Clinton, Obama for America Deputy Campaign Manager Stephanie Cutter, and Obama for America Policy Director James Kvaal "to discuss Mitt Romney’s false, hypocritical attack on the Obama Administration’s recent welfare action."  President Clinton issued a statement saying that the charges in the ad were "not true."

 Nonetheless the Romney campaign came back for a second day on the theme, starting the morning of August 8 with a video.  Romney again addressed it in a speech, and there were again an assortment of statements and ICYMI's from the campaign.  An additional trickle of communications was sent out on August 9. 


Ed. The Washington Post's "The Fact Check" rated this ad four Pinocchios and the Obama response three Pinocchios, observing that, "The campaigns' descent into gotcha politics is increasingly dispiriting."  The approach behind this attack seems to be to find a tiny point (as in the small print or in a couple of sentences in a speech), blow it way out of context or proportion, and beat it like a drum.  The Romney attack contains an element of truth in that Obama did oppose welfare reform back in the day, and it is true that Obama's administration did make changes at the request of governors that might have more appropriately been handled by Congress.  However, the notion that Obama is gutting or dismantling welfare reform simply does not seem to be accurate. This seems to be a manufactured issue played way over the top.  In terms of the quality of the debate and discussion, wouldn't it be nice if the campaigns put this much effort into educating people about their solutions to the challenges facing the country?

Excerpt from the Aug. 7 press briefing by White House Press Secretary Jay Carney:

MR. CARNEY:  From a policy standpoint, let me say that this advertisement is categorically false and it is blatantly dishonest.  This administration’s policy will strengthen the program by giving states the opportunity to employ more effective ways to help people get off welfare and into a job.  Under this policy, governors must commit that their proposals will move at least 20 percent more people -- more people -- from welfare to work.  And as we have made very clear under our policy, any request from any state that undercuts the work requirement in welfare reform will be rejected.

Now, the ad is particularly outrageous as Governor Romney himself, with 28 other Republican governors, supported policies that would have eliminated the time limits in the welfare reform law and allowed people to stay on welfare forever.  Those are not standards the President supports.

It is also worth remembering that this waiver policy that we’re discussing was specifically requested by two Republican governors -- Governor Herbert of Utah and Governor Sandoval of Nevada -- two men, I think you know, who are supporters of Governor Romney.  And I don’t think if you ask them -- and I suggest you do -- that they believe that their interest in these waivers was guided by a desire to undermine work requirements.  Their interest in these waivers was to achieve more flexibility for their states, to innovate and to move more people from work to welfare [welfare to work].  That’s the purpose of this policy.

For Immediate Release: Monday, August 7, 2012
Contact: Office of President Bill Clinton 

Statement by President Bill Clinton on Governor Mitt Romney's New Television Advertisement

New York, NY-Governor Romney released an ad today alleging that the Obama administration had weakened the work requirements of the 1996 Welfare Reform Act. That is not true.

The act emerged after years of experiments at the state level, including my work as Governor of Arkansas beginning in 1980.  When I became President, I granted waivers from the old law to 44 states to implement welfare to work strategies before welfare reform passed.

After the law was enacted, every state was required to design a plan to move people into the workforce, along with more funds to help pay for training, childcare and transportation. As a result, millions of people moved from welfare to work.

The recently announced waiver policy was originally requested by the Republican governors of Utah and Nevada to achieve more flexibility in designing programs more likely to work in this challenging environment.  The Administration has taken important steps to ensure that the work requirement is retained and that waivers will be granted only if a state can demonstrate that more people will be moved into work under its new approach.  The welfare time limits, another important feature of the 1996 act, will not be waived.

The Romney ad is especially disappointing because, as governor of Massachusetts, he requested changes in the welfare reform laws that could have eliminated time limits altogether.  We need a bipartisan consensus to continue to help people move from welfare to work even during these hard times, not more misleading campaign ads.
Barrage DAY 1
from Romney for President
August 7, 2012 6:23 AM
PRESIDENT OBAMA ENDED WELFARE AS WE KNOW IT
 
“Middle-class Americans are struggling in the Obama economy. But, instead of working to get them back on their feet, President Obama is unilaterally dismantling President Clinton’s welfare reforms. Instead of tough work requirements, the President’s policies could change welfare to work into old-fashioned welfare. As president, Mitt Romney will restore the bipartisan work requirement in welfare so that workers have the dignity of a job and not just a handout.” –Andrea Saul, Romney Campaign Spokesperson

To View The Press Release Online, Click Here: http://mi.tt/NkyTas

Last Month, The Obama Administration “Gutted” Clinton-Era Welfare Reforms By Authorizing “Waivers To States” From Work Requirements:
 
The Obama Administration “Is Opening Up Waivers To States From The Work Requirements” That Are A Part Of President Clinton’s Historic Welfare Reform Bill. “After the Obama administration announced this week that it is opening up waivers to states from the work requirements contained in welfare reform, Republicans began to speak out against the move, complaining it completely undercuts the law.” (John Parkinson, “Upending Welfare Reform?” ABC News, 6/13/12)
 
The Obama Administration’s Welfare Changes “Quietly Opened The Door For States To Seek Major Changes” In Work Requirements. “The Obama administration has quietly opened the door for states to seek major changes in how they meet federal welfare-to-work requirements for some of their poorest residents, and leading conservatives are crying foul.” (“Obama Administration Opens The Door For States To Seek Major Changes In Welfare-To-Work Law,” The Associated Press, 7/13/12)
 
·         The Associated Press Headline: “Obama Administration Opens The Door For States To Seek Major Changes In Welfare-To-Work Law” (“Obama Administration Opens The Door For States To Seek Major Changes In Welfare-To-Work Law,” The Associated Press, 7/13/12)
 
Detroit News: President Obama “Tossed Out The Clinton-Era Welfare Reform That Required Able-Bodied Aid Recipients To Work.” “Democrats and Republicans alike should be distressed by President Barack Obama's disregard for constitutional limits on his authority. The president's flouting of the separation of powers risks turning this country into something other than a representative democracy. Congress should move in a bipartisan rebuke of Obama's overreach before he neuters that institution. In a blatant challenge to the legislative branch, Obama by executive order tossed out the Clinton-era welfare reform that required able-bodied aid recipients to work, saying the federal government will no longer enforce the law.” (Editorial, “Obama's Power Grab Flouts Constitution,” Detroit News, 8/6/12)
 
The Racine Journal Times: “If Congress And Clinton Had Wanted A Waiver In The TANF Legislation, They Would Have Put One 16 Years Ago. They Didn’t.” (Editorial, “Keep Welfare, Work Linked,” Racine Journal Times, 7/21/12)
 
The Youngtown Vindicator: “Clinton Signed The Welfare Reform Bill … Yet Now The Obama Administration Wants To Let States Opt Out Of The Bill’s Work Requirement, Which Forced Many People To Get Jobs.” “While Clinton was willing to compromise with congressional Republicans, Obama and congressional Democrats are not. … Yet now the Obama administration wants to let states opt out of the bill’s work requirement, which forced many people to get jobs. Instead of requiring people to work, Health and Human Services wants to grant states waivers to the work provision so that they can ‘test alternative and innovative strategies, policies, and procedures that are designed to improve employment outcomes for needy families.’” (Editorial, “Obama Is No Bill Clinton,” The Youngstown Vindicator, 8/3/12)
 
·         The Youngstown Vindicator: “What Alternative Strategy Is There To An Honest Day’s Work For An Honest Day’s Pay?” (Editorial, “Obama Is No Bill Clinton,” The Youngstown Vindicator, 8/3/12)
 
The Washington Examiner: “With An Official Policy Directive, Obama Gutted President Clinton's 1996 Bipartisan Welfare Reform By Removing The Federal Requirement That Those On Welfare Either Work Or Train For Work.” (Editorial, “Obama Unilaterally Unreforms Welfare,” The Washington Examiner, 7/14/12)
 
But The Reforms Passed By President Clinton And Republicans In Congress Represented A “Historic Reversal Of The Entitlement Welfare”:
 
Welfare Reforms Passed By President Clinton And Republicans In Congress “Reduced The Number Of People Receiving Monthly Cash Benefits From 12.2 Million To 4.2 Million.” “During the past decade, welfare reform, known as TANF, or Temporary Aid to Needy Families, has reduced the number of people receiving monthly cash benefits from 12.2 million to 4.2 million.” (Steve Levin, “10 Years Of Welfare Reform Assessed,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 3/16/12)
 
“The Earnings Of Women Who Left Welfare Rose By More Than Their Cash Assistance Fell: On Balance Their Net Incomes Increased By About 25%...” “The earnings of women who left welfare rose by more than their cash assistance fell: on balance their net incomes increased by about 25% in real terms over the first few years, according to Ron Haskins of the Brookings Institution, a centrist think-tank.” (“From Welfare To Workfare,” The Economist, 7/26/06)
 
One Year After Clinton-Era Welfare Reforms Passed, Welfare Enrollment Declines Were “The Deepest And Most Sustained In U.S. History.” “One year after a far-reaching welfare reform law ended 60 years of guaranteed support for the poor, the Clinton administration released figures yesterday showing public assistance rolls continuing to decline sharply with the percentage of people on welfare at its lowest level since 1970. … The decline, at a rate of 200,000 a month, is the deepest and most sustained in U.S. history.” (John F. Harris And Judith Havemann, “Welfare Rolls Continue Sharp Decline,” The Washington Post, 8/13/97)
 
President Clinton’s Welfare Reforms “Had The Effect Of Pushing People Off Welfare Rolls And Into Jobs.” “And over the years — in up times and in down — TANF has had the effect of pushing people off welfare rolls and into jobs by enforcing work-seeking requirements and limiting how long families can get aid. That was the original intention, and Obama’s decision to undo that linkage is a perilous one.” (Editorial, “Keep Welfare, Work Linked,” Racine Journal Times, 7/21/12)
 
Brookings Institution’s Ron Haskins, On President Clinton’s Welfare Reforms: “Emphasis On Work, Time Limits, And Sanctions Against States …  A Historic Reversal Of The Entitlement Welfare…” “The most important reform was the replacement of the old Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The research on TANF yields a coherent picture that will almost certainly stand the test of time. With its emphasis on work, time limits, and sanctions against states that did not place a large fraction of its caseload in work programs and against individuals who refused to meet state work requirements, TANF was a historic reversal of the entitlement welfare represented by AFDC.” (Ron Haskins, “The Outcomes Of 1996 Welfare Reform, Testimony, House Committee On Ways And Means, 7/19/06)
 
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MEMO from Romney for President
7:12 AM

MEMORANDUM

To:                   Interested Parties
From:              Lanhee Chen, Ph.D., Policy Director
Date:               8/7/2012
Re:                  The Rise And Fall Of Welfare Reform
 
To View This Memo Online, Click Here: http://mi.tt/MZTZjp
 
President Obama’s attempt to dismantle the bipartisan welfare reform of 1996 may energize his dispirited liberal base, but it is an insult to those on welfare and the millions of hard-working middle-class taxpayers struggling in the Obama economy.
 
For decades, welfare was simply an entitlement — a government check in place of a paycheck. In 1996, in one of the great bipartisan policy achievements in recent memory, President Bill Clinton joined with a Republican Congress to end welfare as we knew it. Welfare reform replaced old-school welfare with a welfare-to-work program that emphasized personal responsibility and the dignity of work over government dependence. The reform shifted control of welfare to the states within clearly defined boundaries, the most important of which was the work requirement: federal funding would hinge on states successfully moving welfare recipients back into the workforce. According to Brookings Institution scholar Ron Haskins, the reforms triggered an unprecedented decline in welfare caseloads, with the vast majority of those leaving the rolls in fact able to find work. Earnings for low-income families surged and child poverty plummeted.
 
Unfortunately, not everyone was enthusiastic about welfare reform. For instance, a man named Barack Obama took to the floor of the Illinois state senate to announce his opposition. A devoted believer in old-school, big-government liberalism, Mr. Obama had no interest in embracing the welfare reform package that linked welfare to work. Now as president, with an economy struggling, an election looming, and a dispirited liberal base in need of encouragement, he has decided to turn back the clock.
 
On July 12, the Department of Health and Human Services issued an extraordinary memorandum announcing that welfare reform’s firm and previously unquestioned work requirements were in fact merely optional and subject to the whim of the President and his Administration. Subsequent protestation that they will use their newly claimed discretion wisely is entirely beside the point. After fifteen years of successful reform built on the premise that work requirements are inviolable, President Obama apparently believes he can approve whatever “definitions of work activities” and “calculation of participation rates” he wants. And the memorandum makes clear that he hopes states will consider approaches that remove work participation rate requirements all together.
 
This policy change undermines the very premise of welfare reform. It is an insult to Americans on welfare who are looking for an opportunity to build better lives for themselves. And it is a kick in the gut to the millions of hard-working middle-class taxpayers struggling in today’s economy, working more for less but always preferring self-sufficiency to a government handout. Of course all Americans want to help their fellow citizens having difficulty finding a job in the Obama economy, but they do not want to see the return of a culture of dependency and the reversal of welfare reform’s hard-won gains by a President who never believed in that reform in the first place.
 
Unlike President Obama, Mitt Romney has always been a strong supporter of welfare reform and its work requirements. Because Massachusetts had implemented reforms of its own shortly before the federal reforms of 1996, it was actually exempt from many of the federal requirements when Romney took office as governor. But nevertheless, facing an overwhelmingly Democratic legislature in one of the most liberal states in the country, Romney vetoed efforts to weaken work requirements and he pressed repeatedly to instead strengthen them and bring them in line with federal standards.
 
Americans face a stark choice this November between two very different visions of our country’s future, and President Obama’s attempt to unwind welfare reform offers a perfect illustration of the choice. The Obama campaign slogan may be “Forward,” but his policies will take America backward — back to the discredited liberalism of a bygone era where bigger government programs and bigger government checks were the answer to every problem, and accountability was not on the agenda. It is no surprise that on the President’s watch millions of Americans have given up on work entirely and the labor force participation rate has plummeted to a level not seen in decades (correcting for this, the unemployment rate today is above eleven percent).
 
Mitt Romney offers a different approach. As president, he will immediately rescind the Obama HHS memo on welfare, and make clear that work requirements are not optional. That same philosophy will guide his plan for a stronger middle class that relies on the hard work and ingenuity of the American people — not more directives and dollars from Washington — to produce a true economic recovery that delivers more jobs and more take-home pay.
 
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from Romney for President
August 7, 2012 9:42 AM
THE ROMNEY RECORD: PROTECTING WELFARE TO WORK
 
“Since his time as governor, Mitt Romney has consistently supported strong work requirements for welfare recipients. He fought attempts by an overwhelmingly Democratic legislature to weaken welfare to work and proposed reforms that emphasized the dignity of work. As president, Mitt Romney will immediately rescind President Obama’s welfare changes and make clear that work requirements are not optional.” – Andrea Saul, Romney Campaign Spokesperson
 
To View This Press Release Online, Click Here: http://mi.tt/NZMMjl         
 
To View “Right Choice” Click Here: http://mi.tt/MJGvDT

As Massachusetts Governor, Mitt Romney Consistently Fought To Protect Strong Work Requirements For Welfare Recipients:
 
Club For Growth: “As Governor, Romney Pushed For Important Changes To Massachusetts Expansive Welfare System.” “As governor, Romney pushed for important changes to Massachusetts expansive welfare system. Although federal welfare reform passed in 1995, Massachusetts was woefully behind, relying on a waiver to bypass many of the legislation’s important requirements.  Romney fought for legislation that would bring Massachusetts’ welfare system up to date with federal standards by increasing the number of hours each week recipients must work and establishing a five-year limit for receiving benefits.”  (Club For Growth, “2012 Presidential White Paper #5,” Press Release, 2011)
 
As Governor, Mitt Romney Pushed For “Increasing And Expanding The Work Requirement For Welfare Recipients” And Increased Funding For Support Services And Job Training. "As part of his spending plan for Fiscal Year 2006 that will be filed on Wednesday, Romney will propose increasing and expanding the work requirement for welfare recipients to bring it in line with stricter federal standards in use by virtually every other state in the country. To help more welfare recipients transition to work, the Governor’s budget will also propose higher levels of spending on childcare and transportation as well as education and job training.” (Office Of Governor Mitt Romney, “With Work, Romney Helps Welfare Recipients Get On Their Feet,” Press Release, 1/24/05)
 
Governor Romney Line-Item Vetoed A Provision That Would Have Weakened The Work Requirement For Welfare Recipients. "Specific vetoes include language that would have: ... Allowed education and training to substitute for the 20-hour per week work requirement for able-bodied welfare recipients. This veto saves $8 million and preserves the cornerstone of welfare reform, which has been the work requirement. Romney signed into law a provision expanding the work requirement to recipients who have children between the ages of two and five." (Office Of Governor Mitt Romney, "Romney Signs No New Tax Budget In Time For New Fiscal Year," Press Release, 6/30/2003)
 
Governor Romney Proposed Changes To Massachusetts’ Welfare System To Bring The State In Line With New Federal Requirements. “The governor also wants to make changes in welfare to bring Massachusetts into line with new federal requirements, under which recipients must work at least 24 hours per week.” (Scott S. Greenberger, “Romney Sets A $22.98b Blueprint Education Aid Rises,” The Boston Globe, 1/29/04)
 
As Governor, Mitt Romney Proposed Increased Funding To “Promote Self-Sufficiency Within The Welfare System.” “The Governor’s budget proposes increased funding in a range of other areas, including: $22.6 million to promote self-sufficiency within the welfare system and bring Massachusetts into compliance with federal requirements.” (Office Of Governor Mitt Romney, “Romney Files $25.19 Billion Budget For Fiscal Year 2007,” Press Release, 1/25/06)
 
Governor Romney Supports Work Requirements To Help Americans “Build Self-Sustaining Lives” And Have “The Dignity Of Work”:
 
Governor Romney, In 2005: “People Want A Chance To Work So They Can Build Self-Sustaining Lives Instead Of Relying On A Welfare Check That Will Keep Them Trapped In Poverty.” “‘People want a chance to work so they can build self-sustaining lives instead of relying on a welfare check that will keep them trapped in poverty,’ said Romney. ‘By providing support services and incentives where necessary, we want to give welfare recipients the opportunity to achieve independent and fulfilling lives.'” (Office of Governor Mitt Romney, “With Work, Romney Helps Welfare Recipients Get On Their Feet,” Press Release, 1/24/05)
 
Governor Romney, In 2005: “I Think There Are Loopholes In The State Requirement For Work That Need To Be Closed, And That We Should Conform To The Federal Work Requirements.” (“Romney Assails Welfare Plan's 'Loopholes',” The Boston Globe, 9/23/05)
 
Governor Romney, In January 2012: “I Want The Individuals To Have The Dignity Of Work And Get People Back Into The Workforce.” ROMNEY: “In my state, we made great progress in that regard, following the days of the welfare reform act, but then when I was governor, 85 percent of the people on a form of welfare assistance in my state had no work requirement. And I wanted to increase the work requirement. I said, for instance, that even if you have a child two years of age you need to go to work. And people said, well, that's heartless. And I said, no, no. I'm willing to spend more giving daycare to allow those parents to go back to work. It'll cost the state more, providing that daycare, but I want the individuals to have the dignity of work and get people back into the workforce.” (Mitt Romney, Remarks, Manchester, NH, 1/4/12)
 
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from Romney for President
August 7, 2012 12:55 PM

THE OBAMA RECORD: CONSISTENT OPPONENT OF WELFARE REFORM
 
“When President Obama took unilateral action to begin dismantling welfare to work, it wasn’t an isolated incident. Throughout his career, President Obama has demonstrated hostility for the historic welfare reforms passed by President Clinton and Republicans in Congress. Unlike President Obama, Mitt Romney has always been a strong supporter of welfare reform and, as president, will immediately restore work requirements to welfare.”
– Amanda Henneberg, Romney Campaign Spokesperson
 
To View This Press Release Online, Click Here: http://mi.tt/NlRYcj
 
To View “Right Choice” Click Here: http://mi.tt/MJGvDT
 
After President Clinton And Republicans In Congress Reformed Welfare, Barack Obama Repeatedly Expressed His Opposition To The Legislation:
 
State Senator Barack Obama, In 1998: “The 1996 Legislation I Did Not Entirely Agree With And Probably Would Have Voted Against At The Federal Level.” OBAMA: “One of the good things about welfare reform, which the 1996 legislation I did not entirely agree with and probably would have voted against at the federal level.” (Barack Obama, Remarks, Chicago, IL, 10/19/98)
 
·         Click Here To Listen
 
State Senator Barack Obama, In 1998: “I Was Not A Huge Supporter Of The Federal Plan That Was Signed In 1996.” OBAMA: “You know, let me say one thing about this, because I’ve been very active in drafting the state of Illinois’ welfare proposal and thinking about how do you craft these coalitions. I was not a huge supporter of the federal plan that was signed in 1996.” (Barack Obama, Remarks, Washington, DC, 6/8/98)
 
·         Click Here To View
 
State Senator Barack Obama, In 1999: “I Would Not Probably Have Supported The Federal System – The Federal Bill That Was Passed.” OBAMA: “The first question which is fairly specific is about welfare reform. As most of you know I think, in 1996 the Republican Congress passed and President Clinton signed a welfare reform bill that essentially ended a 60 year entitlement to welfare. I was a strong proponent of some reform of the welfare system. I would not probably have supported the federal system – the federal bill that was passed.” (Barack Obama, Remarks, Northfield, MN, 2/5/99)
 
·         Click Here To Listen
 
And What Did Barack Obama Do After Being Elected President? He “Tossed Out The Clinton-Era Welfare Reform”:
 
President Obama “Tossed Out The Clinton-Era Welfare Reform That Required Able-Bodied Aid Recipients To Work.” “Democrats and Republicans alike should be distressed by President Barack Obama's disregard for constitutional limits on his authority. The president's flouting of the separation of powers risks turning this country into something other than a representative democracy. Congress should move in a bipartisan rebuke of Obama's overreach before he neuters that institution. In a blatant challenge to the legislative branch, Obama by executive order tossed out the Clinton-era welfare reform that required able-bodied aid recipients to work, saying the federal government will no longer enforce the law.” (Editorial, “Obama's Power Grab Flouts Constitution,” Detroit News, 8/6/12)
 
“Clinton Signed The Welfare Reform Bill … Yet Now The Obama Administration Wants To Let States Opt Out Of The Bill’s Work Requirement, Which Forced Many People To Get Jobs.” “While Clinton was willing to compromise with congressional Republicans, Obama and congressional Democrats are not. … Yet now the Obama administration wants to let states opt out of the bill’s work requirement, which forced many people to get jobs. Instead of requiring people to work, Health and Human Services wants to grant states waivers to the work provision so that they can ‘test alternative and innovative strategies, policies, and procedures that are designed to improve employment outcomes for needy families.’” (Editorial, “Obama Is No Bill Clinton,” The Youngstown Vindicator, 8/3/12)
 
“With An Official Policy Directive, Obama Gutted President Clinton's 1996 Bipartisan Welfare Reform By Removing The Federal Requirement That Those On Welfare Either Work Or Train For Work.” (Editorial, “Obama Unilaterally Unreforms Welfare,” The Washington Examiner, 7/14/12)
 
The Associated Press Headline: “Obama Administration Opens The Door For States To Seek Major Changes In Welfare-To-Work Law” (Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, “Obama Administration Opens The Door For States To Seek Major Changes In Welfare-To-Work Law,” The Associated Press, 7/13/12)
 
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ICYMI from Romney for President
August 7, 2012 1:44 PM
MITT ROMNEY: WE MUST RESTORE WORK IN WELFARE
 
“I hope you understand that President Obama in just the last few days has tried to reverse that accomplishment by taking the work requirement out of welfare. That is wrong. If I’m president I will put work back in welfare. There is nothing better than a good job to help lift a family, to allow people to be able to provide for themselves, and to end the spread of a culture of dependency. We must include more work in welfare.” – Mitt Romney
 
To View This Press Release Online, Click Here: http://mi.tt/OLt7lV
 
Remarks
Elk Grove Village, IL
August 7, 2012
 
Click Here To Watch Mitt Romney
 
MITT ROMNEY: “One of the things that happened in the last couple of decades was one of the greatest bipartisan successes we’ve seen. And that was President Bill Clinton and Republicans coming together to reform welfare. They reformed welfare not to just save money. More importantly, they reformed welfare to encourage people to work. They did not want a culture of dependency to continue to grow in our country but instead wanted to have people to have the blessings of work. And by virtue of that bipartisan effort that put work back into welfare, you saw the welfare caseload cut in half and you also saw the number of people in poverty come down year after year after year. That was a great accomplishment. I hope you understand that President Obama in just the last few days has tried to reverse that accomplishment by taking the work requirement out of welfare. That is wrong. If I’m president I will put work back in welfare. There is nothing better than a good job to help lift a family, to allow people to be able to provide for themselves, and to end the spread of a culture of dependency. We must include more work in welfare. When I was Governor of my state, I fought time and again. My legislature passed a bill removing the work requirements at the level we’d had in the past. I vetoed that and then fought time and again to get more work requirements, to raise the work requirements of my state. Not because I don’t think people who need help should be helped. I very much agree that those who are seriously disabled or are unable to work need to have the help of the rest of us. But those who can work ought to have the opportunity for a good job and if they are getting state assistance they ought to have the requirement for a good job. We will end a culture of dependency and restore a culture of good hard work.”
 
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ICYMI from Romney for President
August 7, 2012 2:55 PM
TED CRUZ: ROLLING BACK WELFARE REFORM IS ANOTHER BIG GOVERNMENT OVERREACH
 
“The most compelling reason behind the bipartisan welfare reform that we saw is that helping those receiving government assistance to get jobs, to stand on their own feet fundamentally transforms their lives. We are not doing anybody a favor by giving them welfare in perpetuity and making them dependent on government.” – Texas Republican Senate Nominee Ted Cruz
 
To View The Press Release Online, Click Here: http://mi.tt/OLJmzr
 
Texas Republican Senate Nominee Ted Cruz, Romney Senior Adviser Ed Gillespie, and Romney Deputy Policy Director Jonathan Burks
Press Conference Call
August 7, 2012
 
Click To Listen To The Entire Call:   Part One  Part Two
 
Highlights From The “President Obama’s Dismantling of Bipartisan Welfare Reforms” Press Conference Call:
 
TED CRUZ: “Right now, we’re engaged in a national debate over big government solutions versus individual responsibility and I think this issue powerfully illustrates the different approaches between President Obama and Governor Romney. In my view, there are three critical failings behind President Obama’s new policy on welfare. Number one, it’s fiscally irresponsible. At a time when our nation has sixteen trillion dollars in national debt, the idea that this president would eliminate one of the key requirements that reduced the welfare caseload and reduced federal government spending makes no sense. Number two, it is yet another action of executive arrogance by this president—President Obama, if he disagreed with requiring welfare recipients to work or to seek work. He could have gone to Congress. He could have proposed new legislation. He could have tried to make the case to the American people. But he did not do that. He didn’t try to make the argument to anybody that work requirements were unnecessary or were counterproductive in welfare. Instead, he simply decreed it by executive order and this has been a pattern of this administration where they believe their own ideology trumps the views of the American people. And the third critical failing of this new policy is that it hurts the recipients of welfare. The most compelling reason behind the bipartisan welfare reform that we saw is that helping those receiving government assistance to get jobs, to stand on their own feet fundamentally transforms their lives. We are not doing anybody a favor by giving them welfare in perpetuity and making them dependent on government.”
 
 
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PRESS RELEASE from Romney for President 
3:11 PM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Romney Press Office

August 7, 2012




SEN. ORRIN HATCH: A CULTURE OF DEPENDENCY HELPS NO ONE
 
Boston, MA – Senator Orrin Hatch today made the following statement on President Obama’s dismantling of bipartisan welfare reforms:
 
“Over the last three-and-a-half years, Barack Obama has done nothing to give middle-class Americans shelter from falling incomes, rising costs, or the ever-present fear of losing their jobs or their homes. Now, in another Washington power grab, President Obama has opted to gut the work requirements at the core of the bipartisan welfare reform passed in the 1990s. This is an insult to the American people. Americans will always be there to lend a hand to their fellow citizens in times of need, but a culture of dependency and reliance on government, like the one proposed by President Obama helps no one. Americans deserve a president like Mitt Romney, who has the right background and the right plan to stimulate job creation, encourage economic growth, and strengthen the middle class.”
 
To View This Press Release Online, Click Here: http://mi.tt/S0NwRO
 
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PRESS RELEASE from Romney for President 
3:53 PM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Romney Press Office

August 7, 2012



REP. JIM JORDAN: WORK REQUIREMENTS HELP WELFARE RECIPIENTS BUILD A BETTER FUTURE
 
Boston, MA – Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan today made the following statement on President Obama’s dismantling of bipartisan welfare reforms :
 
“The work requirements in the historic bipartisan welfare reforms passed in 1996 play a critical role in helping welfare recipients achieve independence and build a better future for themselves and for their children. In attempting to dismantle these requirements, President Obama is reinforcing a culture of dependency that goes against the very principles on which our nation was built. It’s an affront not only to those working toward self-reliance, but also to the middle-class Americans who are working harder for less in the Obama economy. I’m pleased Mitt Romney took a strong stand against the Obama Administration’s directive, and I join him in calling for the reversal of this misguided policy.”
 
To View This Press Release Online, Click Here: http://mi.tt/S0NzwU
 
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PRESS RELEASE from Romney for President 
5:33 PM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Romney Press Office

August 7, 2012



REP. CATHY MCMORRIS RODGERS: PRESIDENT OBAMA UNDOING BIPARTISAN WELFARE REFORM

Boston, MA – Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers today made the following statement on President Obama’s dismantling of bipartisan welfare reforms:
 
“Welfare reform is an example of bipartisanship at its finest, with Republicans and Democrats coming together to solve a problem that had plagued our country for decades. It was among the most significant reform efforts of our lifetime. Barack Obama opposed bipartisan welfare reform and now, as president, he is moving to undo one of its central components. By making an end run around Congress and taking this ill-advised, unilateral action, President Obama has shown that he doesn’t have the popular support to gut welfare reform through the legislative process – and that he doesn’t seem to care.”
 
To View This Press Release Online, Click Here: http://mi.tt/Ryou0v
 
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ICYMI from Romney for President
August 7, 2012  6:07 PM
MITT ROMNEY: WORK IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF WELFARE

 
“I happen to think that a work requirement is essential as part of the welfare experience and I actually believe we should have increasing levels of work requirement as oppose to eliminating them as the President has taken by executive action.” – Mitt Romney
 
To View This Press Release Online, Click Here: http://mi.tt/Rytoe2
 
FOX News
August 7, 2012
 
Click Here To Watch Mitt Romney
 
CARL CAMERON, FOX NEWS: “You’re emphasizing the President’s executive action that you say gutted welfare reform. What does this say about Barack Obama’s personal politics and how he approaches welfare as a government service?”
 
MITT ROMNEY: “Well, I think his perspective is that more and more people ought to have the capacity to be part of the welfare system and they shouldn’t have to have the work requirement that President Clinton and Republicans put in place some years ago. I happen to think that a work requirement is essential as part of the welfare experience and I actually believe we should have increasing levels of work requirement as opposed to eliminating them as the president has taken by executive action.”
 
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PRESS RELEASE from Romney for President 
6:34 PM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Romney Press Office

August 7, 2012




REP. STEVE SOUTHERLAND: MITT ROMNEY WILL SUPPORT WORK REQUIREMENTS FOR WELFARE
 
Boston, MA – Florida Congressman Steve Southerland today made the following statement on President Obama’s dismantling of bipartisan welfare reforms:
 
“Thanks to President Obama’s failed economic policies, incomes have fallen, economic growth has stagnated, and the 23 million Americans still struggling for work are running low on hope. The president’s decision to start dismantling welfare-to-work requirements only adds further insult to injury for every American working harder and harder for less and less money. Mitt Romney, on the other hand, recognizes the dignity of work. He will forcefully support work requirements as part of our welfare laws – a component that enjoys broad bipartisan support – and he will focus on creating the good jobs our country needs.”
 
To View This Press Release Online, Click Here: http://mi.tt/Tdeb0g
 
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Barrage DAY 2
PRESS RELEASE from Romney for President 
6:16 AM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Romney Press Office
August 8, 2012
 
ROMNEY FOR PRESIDENT RELEASES NEW WEB VIDEO, “THE RISE AND FALL OF WELFARE REFORM”
 
Boston, MA – Today, Romney for President released a new web video, “The Rise And Fall Of Welfare Reform.” In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed bipartisan legislation that reformed welfare. Democrats from Carl Levin to John Kerry, and even Joe Biden supported the bipartisan reforms. President Obama, on the other hand, has been a consistent opponent of the law and recently dismantled the historic bill. When it comes to welfare reform, President Obama is out of step with the country, his party, and even his own Vice President.
 
To View “The Rise And Fall Of Welfare Reform” Please See: http://mi.tt/NB8Cns
 
AD FACTS: Script For “The Rise And Fall Of Welfare Reform”
 
VIDEO TEXT: “In 1996, President Bill Clinton And A Republican Congress Passed Historic Welfare Reform.”
 
PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: “The new bill restores America’s basic bargain of providing opportunity and demanding in return responsibility.”
 
·         PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: “The new bill restores America’s basic bargain of providing opportunity and demanding in return responsibility.” (President Bill Clinton, Remarks, Washington, D.C., 8/22/96)
 
VIDEO TEXT:  “A Bipartisan Bill Overwhelmingly Supported By Republicans And Democrats”
 
PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: “This bill will help people that go to work, so they can stop drawing a welfare check and start drawing a paycheck.”
 
·         PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: “This bill will help people that go to work, so they can stop drawing a welfare check and start drawing a paycheck.” (President Bill Clinton, Remarks, Washington, D.C., 8/22/96)
 
VIDEO TEXT: “Democrats Like…”
 
VIDEO TEXT: “U.S. Senator Carl Levin”
 
SENATOR CARL LEVIN: “Why should an able-bodied person, receiving welfare benefits, not be required to work…”
 
·          SENATOR CARL LEVIN: “Why should an able-bodied person, receiving welfare benefits, not be required to work for two years?” (Senator Carl Levin, Senate Floor Speech, 7/19/96)
 
VIDEO TEXT: “U.S. Senator John Kerry”
 
SENATOR JOHN KERRY: “I believe it’s an important change. Yes, people ought to work. Hardworking American citizens should not be required to carry people.”
 
·         SENATOR JOHN KERRY: “I believe it’s an important change. Yes, people ought to work. Hardworking American citizens should not be required to carry people.” (Senator John Kerry, Senate Floor Speech, 8/1/96)
 
VIDEO TEXT: “U.S. Senator Joe Biden”
 
SENATOR JOE BIDEN: “I introduced a concept of workfare in 1986. I remember being pilloried by my colleagues on the Democratic side at the time for suggesting that there be a mandatory work requirement for anyone receiving welfare.”
 
·         SENATOR JOE BIDEN: “I introduced a concept of workfare in 1986. I remember being pilloried by my colleagues on the Democratic side at the time for suggesting that there be a mandatory work requirement for anyone receiving welfare.” (Senator Joe Biden, Senate Floor Speech, 7/18/96)
 
VIDEO TEXT: “What Did Barack Obama Think?”
 
STATE SENATOR BARACK OBAMA: “I was not a huge supporter of the federal plan that was signed in 1996.”
 
·          State Senator Barack Obama, In 1998: “I Was Not A Huge Supporter Of The Federal Plan That Was Signed In 1996.” OBAMA: “You know, let me say one thing about this, because I’ve been very active in drafting the state of Illinois’ welfare proposal and thinking about how do you craft these coalitions. I was not a huge supporter of the federal plan that was signed in 1996.” (Barack Obama, Remarks, Washington, DC, 6/8/98)
 
VIDEO TEXT: “A Bill That Requires People On Welfare To Work, Instead Of Just Collecting A Check.”
 
VIDEO TEXT: “I Would Not Probably Have Supported The Federal Bill That Was Passed.”
 
STATE SENATOR BARACK OBAMA: “I would not probably have supported the federal bill that was passed.”
 
·          State Senator Barack Obama, In 1999: “I Would Not Probably Have Supported The Federal System – The Federal Bill That Was Passed.” OBAMA: “The first question which is fairly specific is about welfare reform. As most of you know I think, in 1996 the Republican Congress passed and President Clinton signed a welfare reform bill that essentially ended a 60 year entitlement to welfare. I was a strong proponent of some reform of the welfare system. I would not probably have supported the federal system – the federal bill that was passed.” (Barack Obama, Remarks, Northfield, MN, 2/5/99)
 
VIDEO TEXT: “Probably Turned Into Reality.”
 
VIDEO TEXT: “Obama Ends Welfare Reform As We Know It”
 
·          National Review Online: “Obama Ends Welfare Reform As We Know It” (Robert Rector and Katherine Bradley, “Obama Ends Welfare Reform As We Know It,” National Review Online, 7/12/12)
 
JIM ANGLE, FOX NEWS: “[T]he Obama Administration quietly offered to issue waivers to the work requirements in the law.”
 
·         JIM ANGLE, FOX NEWS: “Well, the Obama Administration quietly offered to issue waivers to the work requirements in the law.” (Fox News’ “Fox Report,” 7/13/12)
 
VIDEO TEXT: “Obama Guts Welfare Reform”
 
·         The Heritage Foundation Headline: “Obama Guts Welfare Reform” (Robert Rector and Kiki Bradley, “Obama Guts Welfare Reform,” The Heritage Foundation, 7/12/12)
 
VIDEO TEXT: “President Obama”
 
VIDEO TEXT: “Taking The Work Out Of Welfare”
 
###
from Romney for President
Aug. 8, 2012  8:56 AM
THE OBAMA RECORD: OPPOSING PRESIDENT CLINTON’S WELFARE REFORMS
 
“It took years for President Clinton and Republicans in Congress to pass historic welfare reforms – but it only took President Obama an instant to undo the legislation’s historic work requirements. On welfare reform, President Clinton and President Obama couldn’t be further apart. As president, Mitt Romney will restore President Clinton’s reforms and get Americans back to work.” – Andrea Saul, Romney Campaign Spokesperson
 
To View This Press Release Online, Click Here: http://mi.tt/NnLKsl
 
President Bill Clinton Has Repeatedly Hailed Bipartisan Welfare Reforms As “Providing Opportunity” And Demanding “Responsibility”:
 
President Clinton Hailed Welfare Reform As “Creating A New Beginning For Millions Of Americans.” “The last 10 years have shown that we did in fact end welfare as we knew it, creating a new beginning for millions of Americans.” (Bill Clinton, Op-Ed, “How We Ended Welfare, Together,” The New York Times, 8/22/06)
 
President Clinton, In 1996: “The New Bill Restores America's Basic Bargain Of Providing Opportunity And Demanding, In Return, Responsibility.” CLINTON: “The new bill restores America's basic bargain of providing opportunity and demanding, in return, responsibility. It provides $14 billion for child care, $4 billion more than the present law does. It is good because without the assurance of child care it's all but impossible for a mother with young children to go to work. It requires States to maintain their own spending on welfare reform and gives them powerful performance incentives to place more people on welfare in jobs. It gives States the capacity to create jobs by taking money now used for welfare checks and giving it to employers as subsidies as incentives to hire people.” (President Bill Clinton, Remarks, Washington, D.C., 8/22/96)
 
·         Click Here To View
 
President Clinton, In 1996: “It Is Now Clearly Better To Go To Work Than To Stay On Welfare—Clearly Better.” CLINTON: “It is now clearly better to go to work than to stay on welfare—clearly better. Because of actions taken by the Congress in this session, it is clearly better. And what we have to do now is to make that work a reality.”  (President Bill Clinton, Remarks, Washington, D.C., 8/22/96)
 
·         Click Here To View
 
President Clinton, On The Success Of Welfare Reform In 1997: “I Think It's Fair To Say The Debate Is Over.” “That view is at odds with claims of victory from Clinton and governors across the country, who point to falling caseloads – the rolls are down 25 percent since Clinton took office – as evidence that welfare reform has worked. ‘I think it's fair to say the debate is over,’ the president said last week.” (Barbara Vobejda And Jon Jeter, “Though Welfare Rolls Are Down, True Test of Reform Is Just Starting, Experts Say,” The Washington Post, 8/22/97)
 
President Clinton’s New York Times Op-Ed: “How We Ended Welfare, Together” (Bill Clinton, Op-Ed, “How We Ended Welfare, Together,” The New York Times, 8/22/06)
 
And What Was Barack Obama Saying After President Clinton Signed Welfare Reform? He Claimed He Was “Not A Huge Supporter” Of The Reforms:
 
State Senator Barack Obama, In 1998: “The 1996 Legislation I Did Not Entirely Agree With And Probably Would Have Voted Against At The Federal Level.” OBAMA: “One of the good things about welfare reform, which the 1996 legislation I did not entirely agree with and probably would have voted against at the federal level.” (Barack Obama, Remarks, Chicago, IL, 10/19/98)
 
State Senator Barack Obama, In 1998: “I Was Not A Huge Supporter Of The Federal Plan That Was Signed In 1996.” OBAMA: “You know, let me say one thing about this, because I’ve been very active in drafting the state of Illinois’ welfare proposal and thinking about how do you craft these coalitions. I was not a huge supporter of the federal plan that was signed in 1996.” (Barack Obama, Remarks, Washington, DC, 6/8/98)
 
State Senator Barack Obama, In 1999: “I Would Not Probably Have Supported The Federal System – The Federal Bill That Was Passed.” OBAMA: “The first question which is fairly specific is about welfare reform. As most of you know I think, in 1996 the Republican Congress passed and President Clinton signed a welfare reform bill that essentially ended a 60 year entitlement to welfare. I was a strong proponent of some reform of the welfare system. I would not probably have supported the federal system – the federal bill that was passed.” (Barack Obama, Remarks, Northfield, MN, 2/5/99)
 
The Verdict Is In – President Clinton Was Right About The Success Of His Bipartisan Welfare Reforms:
 
Welfare Reforms Passed By President Clinton And Republicans In Congress “Reduced The Number Of People Receiving Monthly Cash Benefits From 12.2 Million To 4.2 Million.” “During the past decade, welfare reform, known as TANF, or Temporary Aid to Needy Families, has reduced the number of people receiving monthly cash benefits from 12.2 million to 4.2 million.” (Steve Levin, “10 Years Of Welfare Reform Assessed,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 3/16/12)
 
·         Only One Year After Clinton-Era Welfare Reforms Passed, Welfare Enrollment Declines Were “The Deepest And Most Sustained In U.S. History.” “One year after a far-reaching welfare reform law ended 60 years of guaranteed support for the poor, the Clinton administration released figures yesterday showing public assistance rolls continuing to decline sharply with the percentage of people on welfare at its lowest level since 1970. … The decline, at a rate of 200,000 a month, is the deepest and most sustained in U.S. history.” (John F. Harris And Judith Havemann, “Welfare Rolls Continue Sharp Decline,” The Washington Post, 8/13/97)
 
“The Earnings Of Women Who Left Welfare Rose By More Than Their Cash Assistance Fell: On Balance Their Net Incomes Increased By About 25%...” “The earnings of women who left welfare rose by more than their cash assistance fell: on balance their net incomes increased by about 25% in real terms over the first few years, according to Ron Haskins of the Brookings Institution, a centrist think-tank.” (“From Welfare To Workfare,” The Economist, 7/26/06)
 
In The First Ten Years Of Welfare Reform, “Caseloads Declined By 54 Percent” And “Sixty Percent Of Mothers Who Left Welfare Found Work.” “In the past decade, welfare rolls have dropped substantially, from 12.2 million in 1996 to 4.5 million today. At the same time, caseloads declined by 54 percent. Sixty percent of mothers who left welfare found work, far surpassing predictions of experts.” (Bill Clinton, Op-Ed, “How We Ended Welfare, Together,” The New York Times, 8/22/06)
 
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ICYMI from Romney for President
Aug. 8, 2012  10:39 AM
PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: “HOW WE ENDED WELFARE, TOGETHER”

“Thankfully, a majority of both Democrats and Republicans voted for the bill because they thought we shouldn't be satisfied with a system that had led to intergenerational dependency.  The last 10 years have shown that we did in fact end welfare as we knew it, creating a new beginning for millions of Americans.” – President Bill Clinton

To View This Press Release Online, Click Here: http://mi.tt/OZxk56
 
“How We Ended Welfare, Together”
President Bill Clinton
The New York Times
August 22, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com
 
…
 
On Aug. 22, 1996, after vetoing two earlier versions, I signed welfare reform into law. At the time, I was widely criticized by liberals who thought the work requirements too harsh and conservatives who thought the work incentives too generous. Three members of my administration ultimately resigned in protest. Thankfully, a majority of both Democrats and Republicans voted for the bill because they thought we shouldn't be satisfied with a system that had led to intergenerational dependency.
 
The last 10 years have shown that we did in fact end welfare as we knew it, creating a new beginning for millions of Americans.
 
In the past decade, welfare rolls have dropped substantially, from 12.2 million in 1996 to 4.5 million today. At the same time, caseloads declined by 54 percent. Sixty percent of mothers who left welfare found work, far surpassing predictions of experts. Through the Welfare to Work Partnership, which my administration started to speed the transition to employment, more than 20,000 businesses hired 1.1 million former welfare recipients. Welfare reform has proved a great success, and I am grateful to the Democrats and Republicans who had the courage to work together to take bold action.
 
…
 
The results: child poverty dropped to 16.2 percent in 2000, the lowest rate since 1979, and in 2000, the percentage of Americans on welfare reached its lowest level in four decades. Overall, 100 times as many people moved out of poverty and into the middle class during our eight years as in the previous 12. Of course the booming economy helped, but the empowerment policies made a big difference.
 
…
 
Simply put, welfare reform worked because we all worked together. The 1996 Welfare Act shows us how much we can achieve when both parties bring their best ideas to the negotiating table and focus on doing what is best for the country.
 
…
 
Ten years ago, neither side got exactly what it had hoped for. While we compromised to reach an agreement, we never betrayed our principles and we passed a bill that worked and stood the test of time. This style of cooperative governing is anything but a sign of weakness. It is a measure of strength, deeply rooted in our Constitution and history, and essential to the better future that all Americans deserve, Republicans and Democrats alike.
 
**In compliance with copyright laws, this version of the editorial is excerpted**
 
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ICYMI from Romney for President
Aug. 8, 2012  12:26 AM

MITT ROMNEY: WE CAN’T ALLOW OUR COUNTRY TO BECOME A NATION OF DEPENDENCY

“[President Obama] removed the requirement of work from welfare. It is wrong to make any change that would make America more of a nation of government dependency. We must restore and I will restore work into welfare.” – Mitt Romney

To View This Press Release Online, Click Here: http://mi.tt/OM9hnN
 
Remarks
Des Moines, Iowa
August 8, 2012
 
Click Here To Watch Mitt Romney
 
MITT ROMNEY: “And you see, in that spirit, there was an extraordinary accomplishment a couple of decades ago, and that was to recognize that work and providing people with the skills and opportunity for work would enhance not only the lives of the individuals involved but the entire nation, and so welfare, welfare was reformed. President Clinton and the Republicans who were in Congress at the time came together on a bipartisan basis and said welfare in the future is going to require work. People who receive payments from government are going to be required to work, not as a punitive measure, but as a gift. Work is enhancing. Work is elevating. And there were some who said oh, this will be terrible; there will be poor on the streets. You know what happened? As a result of putting work together with welfare, the number of people on welfare was cut in half; poverty was reduced, five straight years the level of poverty in this country came down.  It was an extraordinary success. Back at that time, then Senator Obama was opposed to putting work together with welfare. Now he's president and just a few days ago, he put that original intent in place with a very careful executive action. He removed the requirement of work from welfare. It is wrong to make any change that would make America more of a nation of government dependency. We must restore and I will restore work into welfare. Again, past performance is a good measure of what's going to happen in the future, and the President's past opposition to work requirements are a pretty good indication of what he's now done. In my case, when I was serving as governor, my legislature passed a bill that would have taken out some of the work requirements. I vetoed it. Then I went to work to try and extend and to improve and to require even more work requirements because I want more people working if they're going to receive government assistance.”
 
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PRESS RELEASE from Romney for President 
1:07 PM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Romney Press Office
August 8, 2012
 
NEWT GINGRICH: PRESIDENT OBAMA’S DISMANTLING OF WELFARE REFORM IS DISTURBING
 
Boston, MA – Former Speaker Newt Gingrich today made the following statement on President Obama’s dismantling of bipartisan welfare reforms:
 
“As an architect of the historic and bipartisan 1996 welfare reform bill, I am disturbed and angered that the Obama administration is undoing the act’s central concept of a welfare-to-work requirement. The hugely successful reform saved billions for taxpayers. More importantly, it began to dismantle the culture of dependency that welfare had fostered: two out of three people on welfare went to work or went to school. The President’s decision to cater to the radical left wing of his party and undo welfare reform is one more reason why it is critical to defeat him at the polls this November.”
 
To View This Press Release Online, Click Here: http://mi.tt/Ndp7KH
 
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PRESS RELEASE from Romney for President 
1:51 PM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Romney Press Office
August 8, 2012
 
SEN. KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON: MITT ROMNEY STANDS BEHIND WORK REQUIREMENTS THAT STRENGTHEN WELFARE REFORM
 
Boston, MA – Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison today made the following statement on President Obama’s dismantling of bipartisan welfare reforms:
 
“President Obama’s push to eliminate welfare to work requirements goes against everything Republicans and Democrats—including President Bill Clinton—fought so hard for more than a dozen years ago. Barack Obama clearly wants to take our country back to a system of dependency on government handouts. That’s the last thing our country needs right now, and I applaud Mitt Romney for his strong stance in support of these important work requirements.”
 
 
To View This Press Release Online, Click Here: http://mi.tt/Ndp8Os
 
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PRESS RELEASE from Romney for President 
3:56 PM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Romney Press Office

August 8, 2012



REP. DIANE BLACK: WE NEED AN OPPORTUNITY SOCIETY THAT ENCOURAGES WORK
 
Boston, MA – Tennessee Congresswoman Diane Black today made the following statement on President Obama’s dismantling of bipartisan welfare reforms:
 
“Every American deserves a chance to succeed, and every American deserves to live in an opportunity society that encourages work. That was the great accomplishment of welfare reform. It took a program that had created government dependency and turned it into one that helped break the cycle of poverty. That the Obama administration is now seeking to undermine the heart of the reform—the work requirement—is a true shame. In the end, the poor will suffer most from this action, and I urge President Obama to reconsider.”
 
To View This Press Release Online, Click Here: http://mi.tt/Ndp1m7
 
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Barrage DAY 3
Pfrom Romney for President
August 9, 2012  7:06 a.m.

THE OBAMA RECORD: OPPOSING REFORMS EVEN HIS VICE PRESIDENT SUPPORTED

“While Barack Obama was criticizing bipartisan welfare reforms, the man he would later choose as his vice president was arguing that welfare recipients ‘should be required to work.’ Vice President Biden recognized what dozens of other Democrats knew at the time – welfare without work requirements just wasn’t working. As president, Mitt Romney will immediately restore the bipartisan Clinton-era welfare reforms and get Americans back to work.” – Andrea Saul, Romney Campaign Spokesperson
 
To View The Press Release Online, Click Here: http://mi.tt/ORYxXT

For More Than Two Decades, Vice President Biden Has Supported Work Requirements For Welfare Recipients:
 
In 1987, Senator Joe Biden Proposed Changes To Welfare That Required Individuals “Either To Work Or Participate In Some Form Of Job Training.” “‘It should have been no surprise that taxpayers would become resentful of the way that we not so much spend on poverty in this country as much as we finance it,’ Biden said. To alleviate that problem, in part, he called for changing welfare regulations to require all mothers, except those with ‘very young’ children, either to work or participate in some form of job training.” (Robert Shogan, “Biden Would Ease ‘Awesome Sinkhole’ Of Child Poverty,” Los Angeles Times, 5/23/87)
 
In 1996, Senator Biden Boasted About Introducing A “Concept Of Workfare In 1986” For Which He Was “Pilloried” By Fellow Democrats. BIDEN: “I introduced a concept of workfare in 1986. I remember being pilloried by my colleagues on the Democratic side at the time for suggesting that there by mandatory work requirements for anyone receiving welfare.” (Sen. Joe Biden, U.S. Senate, 7/18/96)
 
·         Click Here To Watch.
 
Senator Biden, In 1996: “Since 1987, When I First Proposed An Overhaul Of The Welfare System, I Have Argued That Welfare Recipients Should Be Required To Work.” “Since 1987, when I first proposed an overhaul of the welfare system, I have argued that welfare recipients should be required to work. Nine long years later, I am pleased that it is finally going to happen. It has been a long road. I was criticized by many of my friends back then for even suggesting the idea of requiring work.” (“Statement Of Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. On Passage Of Welfare Reform,” Press Release, 8/1/96)
 
Senator Biden: “Today, I Think Everyone Here Believes That Work Should Be The Premise Of Our Welfare System.” (“Statement Of Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. On Passage Of Welfare Reform,” Press Release, 8/1/96)
 
Senator Biden Joined 24 Fellow Senate Democrats In Voting For President Clinton’s Bipartisan Welfare Reforms. (H.R. 3734, CQ Vote #262: Adopted 78-21: R 53-0; D 25-21, 8/1/96, Biden Voted Yea)
 
And Senator Biden Wasn’t Alone – Many Fellow Democrats Sided With President Clinton That Welfare Needed Work Requirements:
 
Senator John Kerry: “People Ought To Work. Hard-Working American Citizens Should Not Be Required To Carry People.” KERRY: “I believe that is the most important debate that the country can have and take away from it any demagoguery or artificiality that is placed in front of us about welfare or stereotypes with respect to it. I believe it is an important change. Yes, people ought to work. Hard-working American citizens should not be required to carry people.” (Senator John Kerry, Senate Floor Speech, 8/1/96)
 
·         Click Here To Watch.
 
Senator Carl Levin: “Why Should An Able-Bodied Person Receiving Welfare Benefits Not Be Required To Work For 2 Years?” LEVIN: “The bill before us requires welfare recipients to work within 2 years of the receipt of benefits-2 years. The question is, why wait 2 years? Why should an able-bodied person receiving welfare benefits not be required to work for 2 years?” (Senator Carl Levin, Senate Floor Speech, 7/19/96)
 
·         Click Here To Watch.
 
Senator Russ Feingold: “The Current System Is Plagued By Perverse Incentives That Discourage Work.” “Feingold said the legislation would offer states the opportunity to develop approaches to help welfare recipients and their families to become economically self-sufficient. ‘The current system is plagued by perverse incentives that discourage work,’ he said. ‘Reforming such a complex system requires taking some risks, and this bill, any welfare reform measure, entails some risks. However, some assumption of risk is necessary to change the status quo.’” (Frank A. Aukofer, “Senate Passes Welfare Bill,” Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 7/24/96)
 
Senator Joe Lieberman: “First And Foremost, It Eliminates The Possibility Of Receiving Public Assistance Without Any Intention Of Making Some Kind Of A Contribution To Society In Return.”  LIEBERMAN: “First and foremost, it eliminates the possibility of receiving public assistance without any intention of making some kind of a contribution to society in return. Beneficiaries will be aware that from the day they receive their first check, the clock will be ticking. Society is fulfilling an obligations to help them get back on their feet, and they in turn are obligated to make every effort to receive job training or education and to find employment.” (Congressional Record, 8/1/96)
 
Senator John Kerry, Senator Carl Levin, Senator Russ Feingold, And Senator Joe Lieberman All Voted In Favor Of President Clinton’s Bipartisan Welfare Reforms. (H.R. 3734, CQ Vote #262: Adopted 78-21: R 53-0; D 25-21, 8/1/96, Kerry Voted Yea, Levin Voted Yea, Feingold Voted Yea, And Lieberman Voted Yea)
 
But It’s Clear Who Won The Policy Fight In The White House – President Obama “Gutted” Welfare Reform By Removing Work Requirements:
 
The Obama Administration’s Welfare Changes “Quietly Opened The Door For States To Seek Major Changes” In Work Requirements. “The Obama administration has quietly opened the door for states to seek major changes in how they meet federal welfare-to-work requirements for some of their poorest residents, and leading conservatives are crying foul.” (“Obama Administration Opens The Door For States To Seek Major Changes In Welfare-To-Work Law,” The Associated Press, 7/13/12)
 
·         The Associated Press Headline: “Obama Administration Opens The Door For States To Seek Major Changes In Welfare-To-Work Law” (“Obama Administration Opens The Door For States To Seek Major Changes In Welfare-To-Work Law,” The Associated Press, 7/13/12)
 
“Sebelius’s HHS Bureaucracy Declared The Existing TANF Law A Blank Slate On Which It Can Write Any Policy It Chooses.” “The Obama administration claims authority to overhaul every aspect of the TANF work provisions (section 407), including ‘definitions of work activities and engagement, specified limitations, verification procedures and the calculation of participation rates’ — in other words, the whole work program. Sebelius’s HHS bureaucracy declared the existing TANF law a blank slate on which it can write any policy it chooses.” (Robert Rector, “Obama’s Attack On ‘Workfare’,” National Review, 8/8/12)
 
Detroit News: President Obama “Tossed Out The Clinton-Era Welfare Reform That Required Able-Bodied Aid Recipients To Work.” “Democrats and Republicans alike should be distressed by President Barack Obama's disregard for constitutional limits on his authority. The president's flouting of the separation of powers risks turning this country into something other than a representative democracy. Congress should move in a bipartisan rebuke of Obama's overreach before he neuters that institution. In a blatant challenge to the legislative branch, Obama by executive order tossed out the Clinton-era welfare reform that required able-bodied aid recipients to work, saying the federal government will no longer enforce the law.” (Editorial, “Obama's Power Grab Flouts Constitution,” Detroit News, 8/6/12)
 
The Washington Examiner: “With An Official Policy Directive, Obama Gutted President Clinton's 1996 Bipartisan Welfare Reform By Removing The Federal Requirement That Those On Welfare Either Work Or Train For Work.” (Editorial, “Obama Unilaterally Unreforms Welfare,” The Washington Examiner, 7/14/12)
 
###
ICYMI from Romney for President
August 9, 2012  10:51 AM

REP. PAUL RYAN: WE CANNOT ENCOURAGE NO STRINGS ATTACHED DEPENDENCY
 
“So of all times, when we have 23 million people who are looking for work and can’t find a job, who stopped and just gave up, or work in temp jobs, it is all that much more important that we make sure we get people transitioned into job training and back into jobs, and not encourage people to just have no strings attached dependency.”  – Rep. Paul Ryan
 
To View This Press Release Online, Click Here: http://mi.tt/N9YPdS
 
Bill Bennett’s Morning In America
August 9, 2012
 
Click Here To Listen To Rep. Paul Ryan
 
PAUL RYAN: “Look, this welfare reform—it worked. It reduced child poverty. It moved people into higher income levels into work. So of all times, when we have 23 million people who are looking for work and can’t find a job, who stopped and just gave up, or work in temp jobs, it is all that much more important that we make sure we get people transitioned into job training and back into jobs, and not encourage people to just have no strings attached dependency.”
 
###
from Romney for President
August 9, 2012  2:12 PM
WELFARE REFORM: PRESIDENT OBAMA VS. HIS OWN CABINET

“When President Obama decided to unilaterally gut historic, bipartisan welfare reform, he must not have checked with his top advisers. For more than a decade, the President’s own cabinet members and senior advisers – and even his own vice president – lauded the success of this historic legislation. As president, Mitt Romney will reverse President Obama’s ill-advised policy and ensure work requirements remain the centerpiece of welfare reform.” – Andrea Saul, Romney Campaign Spokesperson
 
To View This Press Release Online, Click Here: http://mi.tt/RtUNMx
 
President Obama’s Own Top Advisers Supported President Clinton’s Bipartisan Welfare Reforms:
 
Hillary Clinton, President Obama’s Future Secretary Of State, On The Success Of Welfare Reform: “Welfare Rolls Had Dropped … And Millions Of Parents Had Gone To Work.” “By the time Bill and I left the White house, welfare rolls had dropped 60 percent from 14.1 million to 5.8 million, and millions of parents had gone to work. States had supported part-time and low-wage work by continuing to provide medical benefits and food stamps for these workers. By January 2001, child poverty had decreased by more than 25 percent and was at its lowest rate since 1979.” (Hillary Clinton, Living History, 2003, p. 370)
 
·         Click Here To Listen
 
Ray LaHood, President Obama’s Future Transportation Secretary, On Welfare Reform: “An Opportunity To Give People Hope And A Chance To Become Tax-Paying, Job-Holding Citizens.” “Separate bills were approved by the House and the Senate last week. Both would shift management of welfare programs from the federal government to the states and require recipients to get jobs within two years. … ‘People will have a chance to go to community college, to learn a trade and to get a GED,’ LaHood said. ‘It's an opportunity to give people hope and a chance to become tax-paying, job-holding citizens.’” (C.R. McFadden, “Reform Is Needed, But Children Must Be Protected,” Springfield State Journal-Register, 7/31/96)
 
Rahm Emanuel, President Obama’s Future Chief Of Staff, On Welfare Reform: “Succeeded In Forming A System That Both Rewarded And Required Work.”  EMANUEL: “President Clinton vowed to end welfare as we know it and he succeeded in forming a system that both rewarded and required work.”  (Rep. Rahm Emanuel, Remarks On The House Floor, 7/25/06)
 
·         As A Top White House Aide, Emanuel “Urged” President Clinton To Sign The Welfare Bill That Imposed “Work Requirements And Time Limits” On Welfare. “Under the pressure of election-year politics, President Clinton promised Wednesday to sign historic welfare reform legislation wiping out the 60-year-old guarantee of aid for poor families and imposing work requirements and time limits on benefit checks. … Some political advisers, including Dick Morris and Rahm Emanuel, urged the president to sign the legislation.” (Carol Jouzaitis And William Neikirk, “Clinton Backs Welfare Bill,” Chicago Tribune, 8/1/96)
 
And President Obama’s Top Advisers Weren’t Alone – Vice President Biden Also Supported Tough Work Requirements In Welfare:
 
Senator Biden, In 1996: “Since 1987, When I First Proposed An Overhaul Of The Welfare System, I Have Argued That Welfare Recipients Should Be Required To Work.” “Since 1987, when I first proposed an overhaul of the welfare system, I have argued that welfare recipients should be required to work. Nine long years later, I am pleased that it is finally going to happen. It has been a long road. I was criticized by many of my friends back then for even suggesting the idea of requiring work.” (“Statement Of Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. On Passage Of Welfare Reform,” Press Release, 8/1/96)
 
Senator Biden Boasted That He “Introduced A Concept Of Workfare In 1986” And Was “Pilloried” By Fellow Democrats. BIDEN: “I introduced a concept of workfare in 1986. I remember being pilloried by my colleagues on the Democratic side at the time for suggesting that there by mandatory work requirements for anyone receiving welfare.” (Sen. Joe Biden, U.S. Senate, 7/18/96)
 
What Was President Obama Saying At The Same Time? He “Was Not A Huge Supporter” Of Welfare Reform:
 
State Senator Barack Obama, In 1998: “The 1996 Legislation I Did Not Entirely Agree With And Probably Would Have Voted Against At The Federal Level.” OBAMA: “One of the good things about welfare reform, which the 1996 legislation I did not entirely agree with and probably would have voted against at the federal level.” (Barack Obama, Remarks, Chicago, IL, 10/19/98)
 
State Senator Barack Obama, In 1998: “I Was Not A Huge Supporter Of The Federal Plan That Was Signed In 1996.” OBAMA: “You know, let me say one thing about this, because I’ve been very active in drafting the state of Illinois’ welfare proposal and thinking about how do you craft these coalitions. I was not a huge supporter of the federal plan that was signed in 1996.” (Barack Obama, Remarks, Washington, DC, 6/8/98)
 
State Senator Barack Obama, In 1999: “I Would Not Probably Have Supported The Federal System – The Federal Bill That Was Passed.” OBAMA: “The first question which is fairly specific is about welfare reform. As most of you know I think, in 1996 the Republican Congress passed and President Clinton signed a welfare reform bill that essentially ended a 60 year entitlement to welfare. I was a strong proponent of some reform of the welfare system. I would not probably have supported the federal system – the federal bill that was passed.” (Barack Obama, Remarks, Northfield, MN, 2/5/99)
 
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