Arguments For Welfare Reform

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President Bill Clinton had faced a difficult reelection in 1996. The Republicans for the first time in 50 years gained control of the House and Senate. Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the House, was pressuring President Clinton to aid in creating welfare reform,as this had been a conservative goal for awhile. Proponents for the welfare reform, an example being Florida U.S. Representative Claw Shaw, introduced the bill by playing the ideals of liberty stating that, “The inscription at the base of the Statue of Liberty was written before welfare. ... People came to this country to work. Now the question becomes, Are these handouts a magnet that is bringing people into this country? To some degree, they are”. In 1992 President Clinton also won his election partly due to his promises for welfare reform making him forced to work with the Republican Party as it would be unpopular to go against his own word. …show more content…

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act became the official name for the Welfare Reform Act of 1996, as seen the ideals of conservatives were even implemented into the name promoting self determination and good work ethic. Due to the association between the Legislative and Executive branches of government the pass this act, it became hailed as a significant bipartisan achievement. As far as I could tell the media had little to do with the implementation of this act other than backing President Clinton into a corner with his own words, and interest groups seemed to be absent having little to no effect on the outcome

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