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American Morning

Interview with HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson

Aired February 26, 2002 - 07:59   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: On now to the president's plan for the future welfare reform. It was something he talked about during his State of the Union address.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good jobs must be the aim of welfare reform. As we reauthorize these important reforms, we must always remember the goal is to reduce dependency on government and offer every American the dignity of a job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAFFERTY: This morning Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson will present details of the president's welfare reform plans with meeting of the nation's governors in Washington, and a short while ago I spoke with Mr. Thompson about that plan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOMMY THOMPSON, HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: Basically we're going to put a lot more emphasis on those individuals that are still receiving cash assistance. We're going to allow them to get better trained. We're going to have more attention paid to each individual case. We're going to require states to follow each individual case. We're going to still require work, but we're going to allow 16 hours out of every 40-hour week to get into job preparation, education, drug rehabilitation, but they're going to have to work 24 hours. So we're really going to fill up 40 hours a week and put the emphasis on making sure that that individual is being able to get reintegrated back into the workplace.

CAFFERTY: Since the Welfare Reform Act of 1996, there has been a substantial reduction in the number of people on the welfare roles, but some critics suggest that the booming economy has had as much to do with the reduction in the welfare roles as anything else and that now that the economy has become sluggish, we could actually see an increase in the number of people on welfare. What's the administration's response to that?

THOMPSON: Well truly that is not the case. We have seen a tremendous amount of people go from welfare to job employment to independence. There's going to be some slippage, of course, but overall it's been a huge success. I can't find hardly anybody that wants to go back to the old keg system. Most people want to go ahead and improve this system that we started five years ago. And I, of course, am one of those champions as is President Bush.

We believe very much in the worth of every individual, and we believe that even though there is a downturn right now, we haven't seen a huge upsurge in people going back on dependency. We're seeing an opportunity here to really, you know, do some things to smooth out some of the hard edges and getting more people involved and make sure that the rest of the individuals that are still receiving assistance are able to get to work and become independent. That's what it's all about Jack, and that's what - that's what is hope and optimism for those individuals.

CAFFERTY: There's one item that I can't help but think is going to cause some discussion, perhaps some controversy, and that's the proposal by the Bush administration to include $100 million in its budget to encourage unwed mothers to marry as way of getting them off welfare.

Two questions, does that have any chance of flying? And is that the government's job?

THOMPSON: Well, basically you're a little bit wrong in the way you say it Jack. Overall we're spending 19 - over $19 billion on (UNINTELLIGIBLE) on welfare reauthorization. And only $100 million on a demonstration plan that's going to allow five states to apply, to set up programs to help individuals, counsel them, give them technical assistance, trying to promote healthy marriages, as well as trying to make sure that we bring children and be able to get them out of poverty and help those individual children. And this is trying to make a stable family unit, and I think it's only right that the government gets involved to help families help themselves.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAFFERTY: That was Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson in a taped interview that I did with him from Washington about a quarter to seven this morning. President Bush will be taking his welfare reform program public later today, and there will countless be, I'm sure, a lot of discussion on some of the ideas in there.

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Discussion and heated debate.

CAFFERTY: Perhaps.

ZAHN: You were up early this ...

(CROSSTALK)

CAFFERTY: Can't do enough for "AMERICAN MORNING", you know it's devoted.

ZAHN: Thanks Jack.

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