Congress seeks to renew 1996 welfare law

WASHINGTON -- Republicans were pushing tougher work rules and touting the successes of their 1996 welfare overhaul as debate over how to best aid the poor moved to the House floor.\nAs Congress works to renew the landmark 1996 law, few were advocating fundamental changes in the welfare system, which now limits the amount of time anyone can get benefits and punishes many who don't follow strict rules. Republicans were hoping to make the work requirements even stricter, saying it would cut the rolls even further.\n"This is a bill about opportunity for Americans," said House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.\nMinority Democrats were pushing more dollars for child care. They also want to give states the power to put more people into education and training in hopes of helping welfare recipients move up the job ladder.\n"Why is education important for everyone in this country except for people that happen to be on cash assistance?" asked Rep. Ben Cardin, D-Md., a leader on welfare issues.\nDemocrats were not likely to prevail in what shaped up to be a party-line issue in the House, where debate began Wednesday. The Republican bill closely mirrors the plan put forth by President Bush. Votes in House committees were virtually all along party lines.\nRather, liberals hoping to shape the final outcome were turning their attention to the Senate, where moderates from both parties were working on compromise legislation likely to embrace some of what each party wants.\nHouse Republicans were doing what they could to spotlight the debate, which they see as a political winner. Disputes aside, strategists reason that any debate serves to remind voters of their 1996 legislation that pushed work and helped to cut the welfare rolls by more than half. They're betting that voters won't pay much attention to the details of the debate and focus on the big picture.\nRepublicans have made a few moves toward the Democratic position since Bush unveiled his plan. They added $2 billion over five years for child care, where Bush had no new money -- a change that Republican women in the House took credit for Wednesday.\nAnd they made the reduction of poverty an explicit goal of the welfare program, a symbolic move meant to signal that just leaving the rolls and remaining poor isn't good enough.