Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/debate-over-welfare-reform-lingers-10-years-later Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript Ten years ago, then-President Clinton signed into law major welfare changes that tightened restrictions on who could receive welfare and for how long. Experts assess the impact the law has had over the years. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. BETTY ANN BOWSER, NewsHour Correspondent: The sweeping Welfare Reform Act of 1996 ended cash assistance as an entitlement. It was intended to move people off welfare, and it did.Since 1996, the number on assistance has plunged from 12 million down to 4 million. Nearly a million lost benefits when they hit time limits or didn't follow rules, and millions more left from low-paying jobs. But in recent years, the decline of caseloads has slowed.This summer, the Bush administration announced new rules it hopes will push much larger numbers of welfare recipients into jobs. The changes are a response to the Deficit Reduction Act President Bush signed into law last winter and are intended to further reduce costs of the federal program.GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States: The message of the bill I signed today is straightforward: By setting priorities and making sure tax dollars are spent wisely, America can be compassionate and responsible at the same time. BETTY ANN BOWSER: The administration says states will now face stiff financial penalties if they don't prove that half of their welfare recipients are working. That 50 percent work requirement was in the original 1996 law. But Michael Leavitt, secretary of health and human services, says until now states were able to get around it.MIKE LEAVITT, Health and Human Services Secretary: We've essentially gone back and said, "Let's reboot, start again. Let's put in the 50 percent work requirement that was originally intended so that people can not only get back on their feet, but have some way to sustain themselves over a long period of time." BETTY ANN BOWSER: Currently only five states meet the 50 percent work requirement. In fact, the majority of states fall below 36 percent. And the Congressional Budget Office estimates that states may have to spend $12 billion in expanded programs to implement the new rules.The administration also challenged the definition of "work," saying many states have been too lenient. MIKE LEAVITT: In some states, they were allowing motivational reading to be work. In some cases, it was shopping for clothes. In a couple of cases, it was bed rest. I mean, I know that sounds crazy, but you can see it just needed to be redefined and tightened up to where it was what we all know to be work.