Bill Clinton: “Good morning. Yesterday we crossed a historic threshold with the creation of more than 20 million new jobs since January…”

“Good morning. Yesterday we crossed a historic threshold with the creation of more than 20 million new jobs since January 1993. This is a great American achievement and further proof of the health of our economy, which now has given us the longest peacetime expansion in our Nation's history. Today I want to talk about a group of new workers who, just a few short years ago, were virtually locked out of our growing economy and their chance at the American dream: the more than one million Americans who are now moving from welfare to work every year. Seven years ago I asked the American people to join me in ending welfare as we know it. In 1996, with bipartisan support, we passed a landmark welfare reform bill. Today I am pleased to announce that we've cut the rolls by more than half. Fewer Americans are on welfare today than at any time since 1969, 30 years ago. We're moving more than a million people a year from the welfare rolls to the payrolls, 1.3 million in 1998 alone. And most of the people who get jobs are keeping them. They're getting raises and paying taxes and teaching their children to honor the dignity of work. We've changed the culture of welfare from one that fostered dependence to one that honors and rewards work. That's why I fought to create high performance bonuses for States that do the most for parents entering the work force. I am pleased to announce the first of those awards today.…”