Ehrlich on Washington column, February 18, 1996

MEWS FROM Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Second Congressional District of Maryland 1407 York Road, Suite 304 Lutherville, Maryland 21093 315 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 EHRLICH ON WASHINGTON Week of February 18, 1996 By Congressman Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. BIPARTISAN BREAKTHROUGH ON MEDICAID & WELFARE Good news from the balanced budget front. Two weeks ago the National Governors Association-an organization consisting of Republicans and Democrats-unanimously endorsed a welfare and Medicaid reform package. If President Clinton accepts this bipartisan proposal, it may break the impasse which has blocked enactment of a seven-year balanced budget plan. The governors’ plan embraces the principles contained within the welfare and Medicaid reform bills passed by Congress and vetoed by the President. It proposes replacing failed federal programs with block grant payments to the states, giving local problem solvers the flexibility and resources to design solutions that work for them. The governors have come together in a bipartisan manner to request what Congress has been seeking all along-a shift in power away from Washington and back to states and localities. Here are the highlights of the governors’ welfare proposal: Block grants - The governors support eliminating the current federal entitlement to cash welfare with block grant payments which states may use to craft their own programs. Existing federal child care programs will be folded into a single block grant; funding will increase by $6