Bill Clinton: “You made a comment about how it's important to get the men involved. Let me just say--maybe everyone in the press knows…”

“You made a comment about how it's important to get the men involved. Let me just say--maybe everyone in the press knows this, but let me emphasize, the reason that's important in terms of what they're doing here in Missouri and what we can do under welfare reform is that with certain rare exceptions--some States cover two-parent households with welfare--but basically, single men cannot get welfare in America; if they get any income supplement, it's something they get from the State. What they have been getting from the Federal Government is food stamps, and if they're able-bodied, that's been cut back. But what Missouri is doing is taking the food stamps income that men could get, along with the welfare income that women could get, and making them both available as supplements to employers if they will hire people either off welfare or idle men who are only getting food stamps. And so this State has really done, I think, a remarkable job of trying to use all the tools available to it. [Participants described their experiences with the program, emphasizing the assistance they received in child care and health insurance coverage.]”