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THE PRESIDENT'S ECONOMIC PLAN:
REWARDING WORK AND RESPONSIBILITY
For low-income programs, the President would move people from
welfare to work through strict work requirements and investments in
training and child care. He would expand efforts to fight fraud and
abuse, maintain the national nutrition safety net, target support to
the neediest, and protect poor children. These proposals would save
$38 billion over 7 years, after accounting for investments in child
care and work and training for welfare recipients. Republican
proposals would cut more than $100 billion over 7 years, tearing apart
the social safety net, imposing unattainable work requirements while
slashing child care, and putting millions of children at risk.
For the Earned Income Tax Credit, the President proposes to
continue the expansion of tax relief for the working poor, save $3
billion over 7 years by improving error and fraud control, and make
sure illegal aliens who are not authorized to work in the U.S. do not
receive the EITC.
By cutting the EITC by $21 billion over 7 years, Senate
Republicans would raise taxes on 10 million working families
with children and 4 million low-income workers without
children.
For cash assistance and social services programs, the President
would save $10 billion over 7 years by tightening SSI eligibility,
tightening rules for AFDC, encouraging recipients to move from welfare
to work, curtailing abuses, and investing in child care and work
programs.
Republicans would drastically cut funding for cash assistance
($29-44 billion over 7 years), remove requirements that States
contribute to program funding, place new strings on States,
and, in the House plan, ultimately deny cash to millions of
children. In addition, the House would eliminate SSI benefits
for up to 170,000 disabled children now receiving benefits and
for as many as 550,000-850,000 who would otherwise receive them
over the next five years.
For benefits to immigrants, the President would save $5 billion
over 7 years by tightening sponsorship and eligibility rules for
non-citizens, thus forcing sponsors of legal immigrants to bear
greater responsibility for those whom they encourage to come to the
U.S.
Republicans would slash $27-$33 billion over 7 years by denying
assistance to low- income immigrants, including over 1 million
legal immigrants now in the U.S.
For food assistance, the President would maintain the national
nutrition safety net programs while cutting mandatory spending by $20
billion over 7 years. He would protect spending on WIC and give
600,000 more women, infants and children access to WIC's important
health and nutrition benefits.
Republicans would eliminate the national nutrition safety net,
slashing $33-$49 billion over 7 years, by capping Food Stamps
and block granting the school lunch and other child nutrition
programs. In addition, Republicans would force up to 300,000
women, infants, and children off WIC in 1996.