Editorial: Child care should top reform bill

Thursday, May 23, 2002 | 8:55 a.m.

In 1996 President Clinton signed into law a welfare reform bill that passed the Republican-led Congress. In that time the welfare rolls have dropped from about 12 million down to slightly more than 5 million. It's still a matter of debate whether this dramatic reduction in welfare beneficiaries was due to tougher work requirements, an incredibly robust economy during the 1990s, or a combination of both. Nevertheless, most of the welfare reforms are politically popular and are here to stay as Congress debates making changes to the law, which expires this year.

While there is general agreement between the two parties on keeping most of the provisions in the current welfare reform law, there still are divisions between Democrats and Republicans on some of the changes they believe should be made to the legislation. In the House version that passed last week, Republicans adopted much of President Bush's recommendations, including a requirement that welfare recipients work at least 40 hours a week instead of the current minimum of 30 hours. While in theory that sounds reasonable, the problem is that many of these beneficiaries, including single mothers, don't make enough to provide their younger children with child care during the day. While the House added some more money to the subsidies the recipients currently receive for day care, Democrats note that it won't be enough to offset the costs for an additional day o f child care each week.

Meanwhile, the Republicans, who ostensibly don't want government interfering in the lives of people, in the same welfare reform legislation have passed $300 million to help promote marriage. Certainly marriage should be held in high regard, but the government has no business getting involved in this most private matter. If the Republicans wanted to do some real good, they'd take that $300 million and apply it instead to more subsidies for child care. The House bill now goes to the Senate, which should insist that more money be set aside for child care, an affirmation of Bush's presidential campaign pledge that no child should be left behind.