Monday, October 31, 2016
Hillary Takes Her Final Curtain Call
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Presidential Medal of Freedom has lost its meaning
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Obama Guts Bill Clinton's Welfare Reform Law By 'Policy Directive'
Cross posted from Wake up America
Updates being added below the post as reactions come out.
Today the Obama Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released an official policy directive rewriting the welfare reform law of 1996. The new policy guts the federal work requirements that were the foundation of the reform law. The Obama directive bludgeons the letter and intent of the actual reform legislation. - Heritage, 7/12/12
Via Washington Examiner:
While the Obama campaign goes all out attacking Mitt Romney’s business history, the Romney campaign is looking carefully at a new Obama administration policy that could become a significant part of Romney’s case against the president. In a quiet move Thursday — barely noted beyond the conservative press — the Obama administration “released an official policy directive rewriting the welfare reform law of 1996,” according to Robert Rector, a welfare policy expert at the Heritage Foundation.
The directive — which some Romney aides found stunning — allows the Department of Health and Human Services to waive the work requirement at the heart of welfare reform. That reform, originally vetoed but later signed into law by President Bill Clinton, is widely viewed as the most successful policy initiative in a generation. Under it, the growth in welfare rolls was reversed and millions of people moved from welfare to work.
Despite its success, however, many liberals remain opposed to reform. For example, in the years immediately after passage of the law, Barack Obama himself pledged to do all he could to undo it. Now, he has.
Heritage explains:
Obama’s Trick to Get Around Work Requirements
Today the Obama Administration issued a new directive stating that the traditional TANF work requirements can be waived or overridden by a legal device called the section 1115 waiver authority under the Social Security law (42 U.S.C. 1315).
Section 1115 states that “the Secretary may waive compliance with any of the requirements” of specified parts of various laws. But this is not an open-ended authority: Any provision of law that can be waived under section 1115 must be listed in section 1115 itself. The work provisions of the TANF program are contained in section 407 (entitled, appropriately, “mandatory work requirements”). Critically, this section, as well as most other TANF requirements, are deliberately not listed in section 1115; they are not waiveable.
In establishing TANF, Congress deliberately exempted or shielded nearly all of the TANF program from the section 1115 waiver authority. They did not want the law to be rewritten at the whim of Health and Human Services (HHS) bureaucrats. Of the roughly 35 sections of the TANF law, only one is listed as waiveable under section 1115. This is section 402.
Section 402 describes state plans—reports that state governments must file to HHS describing the actions they will undertake to comply with the many requirements established in the other sections of the TANF law. The authority to waive section 402 provides the option to waive state reporting requirements only, not to overturn the core requirements of the TANF program contained in the other sections of the TANF law.
The new Obama dictate asserts that because the work requirements, established in section 407, are mentioned as an item that state governments must report about in section 402, all the work requirements can be waived. This removes the core of the TANF program; TANF becomes a blank slate that HHS bureaucrats and liberal state bureaucrats can rewrite at will.
Mitt Romney today made the following statement on the Obama Administration's action to fundamentally undermine the bipartisan 1996 welfare reforms:
“President Obama now wants to strip the established work requirements from welfare. The success of bipartisan welfare reform, passed under President Clinton, has rested on the obligation of work. The President's action is completely misdirected. Work is a dignified endeavor, and the linkage of work and welfare is essential to prevent welfare from becoming a way of life.”
[Updates below]
Mickey Kraus over at The Daily Caller with his initial 15 point analysis of Obama's weakening Clintons welfare reform law.
Newt Gingrich tweets "Obama’s suspension of workfare requirements is almost certainly illegal, a sign of the jobs failure, and a reminder how liberal obama is." Gingrich continues with "President clinton and the republican congress created a bipartisan work oriented reform of welfare. Obama has single handedly destroyed it. (H/T The Daily Caller)
Speaker of the House, John Boehner weighs in with a statement:
The Obama administration has taken the extraordinary step of unilaterally gutting the work requirements at the heart of President Clinton’s historic welfare reform law, a signature bipartisan achievement of the Clinton administration and Republican-led Congress of the 1990s. Why? Because of the lack of jobs in the Obama economy.
Speaker John Boehner released the following statement:
“By gutting the work requirements in President Clinton’s signature welfare reform law, President Obama is admitting his economic policies have failed."While President Clinton worked with Congress in a bipartisan way on welfare reform and economic opportunity, President Obama has routinely ignored Republican proposals, rejected House-passed jobs bills, and imposed an agenda that’s helped keep the unemployment rate above eight percent for 41 months. Instead of working with Republicans to boost job creation, the president is simply disregarding the requirement that welfare recipients find work.
“Welfare reform was an historic, bipartisan success – this move by the Obama administration is a partisan disgrace.”
The Heritage Foundation says the “rigorous new federal work standards that state governments were required to implement” were the core of the welfare reform law. Whereas “[i]n the four decades prior to welfare reform, the welfare caseload never experienced a significant decline,” the work requirements were “very successful” in reducing welfare rolls and getting Americans back to work.
In an op-ed marking welfare reform’s 10-year anniversary, President Clinton said the law and its work requirements “create[ed] a new beginning for millions of Americans.” Welfare rolls “dropped substantially, from 12.2 million in 1996 to 4.5 million” in 2006, and “more than 20,000 businesses hired 1.1 million former welfare recipients.”
But with the Obama economy hung over from a failed ‘stimulus’ spending binge, job creators handcuffed by excessive regulations, and small businesses frightened by the president’s tax hike plan, jobs are hard to come by. So the White House simply gutted the work requirements that have been so successful. Instead of creating new jobs, the Obama administration is creating more dependency.
Thomas Lifson, via American Thinker:
The House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) and Senate Finance Committee ranking member Orrin Hatch (R-UT) have sent a letter to HHS Secretary Sebelius seeking an explanation for what appears to me to be a lawless power grab. Rep. Camp summed it up: "This is a brazen and unwarranted unraveling of welfare reform. This ends welfare reform as we know it."Letter embedded below:
7.12.12 TANF Work Requirements Letter
Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Jordan responded to today’s announcement by the Department of Health and Human Services that it would violate the 1996 welfare reform law by waiving work requirements for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.
“President Obama just tore up a basic foundation of the welfare contract. In exchange for taxpayer-funded TANF payments, the law calls on able-bodied adults to work, look for work, take classes, or undergo drug and alcohol counseling. It’s the tough love that gives people motivation to help themselves.”
“By waiving the law's requirements, President Obama will make it harder for Americans to escape poverty. He is hurting the very people he claims to help.”
“Today’s action is also a blatant violation of the law. After immigration, education, marriage, and religious conscience protections, we can now add welfare reform to the list of laws President Obama refuses to follow.”
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Bill Clinton Will Disclose List of Donors
According to several news sources former President Bill Clinton will attempt to clear the way for Senator Hillary Clinton to be nominated as secretary of state by disclosing the names of over 200,000 donors to his foundation.
The International Herald Tribune writes today that two unnamed advisers and two Democrats “who are close to the process” say that Senator Hillary Clinton will be nominated as secretary of state on Monday.
As permitted by law, Clinton’s contributor list has been kept secret. The release of the names of contributors will be completed in December to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest. Future donors will be disclosed as long as Hillary is in the Cabinet. Bill Clinton’s business and charitable activities have involved world travel and the collection of “six-figure speaking fees from foreign organizations,” which could interfere with the conduct of U.S. foreign policy.
The International Herald Tribune reports that Bill Clinton signed-off on nine conditions set by Obama “which go beyond the requirements of law. “ Only a few of those conditions are known at this time.
Among other things, he also agreed to incorporate his Clinton Global Initiative separately from the foundation so that he had less direct involvement. The initiative would no longer hold annual meetings outside the United States or accept any foreign government contributions.
Bill Clinton will have to submit his speeches and business activities for review by the State Department and “if necessary, to the White House counsel's office.”
Additionally, the Clinton-Global Initiative, which is part of the William J. Clinton Foundation, will be “incorporated separately to establish some distance from the former president in its day-to-day activities,” and “Clinton will not solicit sponsorship contributions.”
According to the International Herald Tribune the Clinton and Obama lawyers have spent a great deal of time crafting the agreement and Obama’s team is satisfied with Clinton’s concessions.
For background details on the need for conditions and concessions from Bill Clinton read the Nov 18 article in Digital Journal, “Will Bill Help or Hurt Hillary’s Chances of Becoming Secretary of State?”
Important News Update: See Mr. Obama: Don’t Miss Next Week’s Chicago Tribune
This from today’s Canada Free Press . . .
Our full-page Open Letter to Mr. Obama will be published in the Chicago Tribune on both Monday, December 1, 2008 and Wednesday, December 3, 2008. It will appear in the main news section. Click here to view a copy of the final ad. . . .
The Open Letter to Mr. Obama is a formal Petition for a Redress (Remedy) for the alleged violation of the “natural born citizen” clause of the Constitution of the United States of America.
Trackposted to Pirate's Cove, Rosemary's Thoughts, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Bill Clinton's Twist on Obama-Ayers: Hillary had the Ammo
Bill Ayers Chicago Magazine Photo
We all knew that Hillary had something on Barack Obama...something that would tilt the Presidential primaries to her side...something that would put her on the path to the Oval Office. It didn't happen...but why?
On the campaign trail, why would Hillary not use the terrorism-card against Obama's high-profile friendship with a man who spent some time on the FBI's 10 Ten Most Wanted List?
It must have occurred to Hillary that being friends with a man who was in on the bombing of the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon and the U.S. State Department might escalate her opportunity to become the Democrat nominee for President.
But Hillary remained silent about the relationship between Weatherman terrorist, William Ayers and his equally terror-mongering wife, Bernadine Dorn.
Did America come to believe that this personal and political friendship was of no importance...that surely it was overstated...that it couldn't be proved?
Bill Clinton, Hillary's biggest obstacle to the White House, got in Hillary's way again, but it began many years ago. Hillary had the ammo but couldn't use it, according to Andrew McCarthy, contributing editor at National Review Online (NRO):
The embassy bombings were almost a distant memory. Not three months had passed since terrorists bombed the U.S.S. Cole, murdering 17 American sailors and nearly sinking a U.S. destroyer. No matter. Clinton’s last official acts in office included the pardons of Susan Rosenberg, a Weatherman terrorist serving a richly deserved 58-year sentence, and Linda Sue Evans, a Weatherman terrorist serving a richly deserved 40-year sentence.Read the entire article at NRO.
Barack Obama has an inexplicable relationship with Weatherman terrorist Bill Ayers — and Ayers’s wife, the equally disgusting Weatherman terrorist Bernadine Dohrn. It’s a disqualifying relationship. All that needed to happen was for Obama’s opponent to point it out.
Hillary Clinton couldn’t point it out.
Hillary didn't snitch on him, but we are learning the details of Obama-Ayers day-by-day, anyway, and this cozy relationship is not pretty.
The short story and then some related links:
William Ayers, the former Weatherman, became a professor at University of Illinois at Chicago. He founded the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC) in conjunction with $50 million funder, the Annenberg Foundation. Barack Obama was brought in to be CAC's first Chairman of the Board.
Obama, along with ex-officio board member Bill Ayers, spent over $100 million dollars on failed programs to supposedly boost the learning skills in Chicago public schools.
Within the program, schools WERE NOT targeted to receive grants directly. Grant requests were given to "chosen" "external partners," to which schools needed to attach themselves. Bill Ayers' Small Schools" program qualified for money, and it is reported that Obama's former church, Trinity United Church of Christ, headed by Pastor Jeremiah Wright also received funds. The District 5 Math project was rejected, The Chicago Algebra Project was rejected. The South Shore African Village Collaborative was accepted.
Chicago public schools did not improve. The program was an utter failure.
Read more:
Obama-Ayers: Chicago Schools Failed Under Ethnic Identity Agenda.
Obama-Ayers Funnel Funds to Jeremiah Wright and The Arab American Network?
Watch for more. CAC records are under examination as I write.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Clinton said immigration can threaten bonds of our union
President Clinton spoke in 1998 at Portland State University's Commencement. The speech was about immigration! This is the key quote:
"What do the changes mean? They can either strengthen and unite us, or they can weaken and divide us. We must decide… But mark my words, unless we handle this well, immigration of this sweep and scope could threaten the bonds of our union."
The text of the speech can be found on several sites linked below.
Now wouldn’t it be a nice thing for us to let Bill know that we haven’t forgotten him and we won’t let the press ignore his words any longer? Let’s all find room on our blogs to post this quote frequently!!!
I’m sure that Hillary will appreciate it too!
Quote vetted on these links: VDARE.com, Changing Face, Fair, Support U.S. Population Stabilization (SUSPS)
**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email stiknstein-at-gmail-dot-com and let us know at what level you would like to participate.
Related tags: politics, hillary clinton, clinton, democratic party, democrats, immigration, border, immigration reform, homeland security, mexican border,borders, amnesty, invasion, homeland, illegal aliens
Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson's Website, Rosemary's Thoughts, The Random Yak, DeMediacratic Nation, Big Dog's Weblog, Shadowscope, The Amboy Times, Conservative Cat, Pursuing Holiness, Faultline USA, Right Celebrity, third world county, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, The World According to Carl, Gulf Coast Hurricane Tracker, Right Voices, and thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
