Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi

Pelosi Joins VP Gore for a Forum on Welfare-to-Work

March 1, 1999

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) today joined Vice President Al Gore, the Clinton Administration and hundreds of Bay Area residents for a Welfare-to-Work forum at the Civic Center. "It's important to see this program evolve in order to deal with the issues facing families moving from welfare to work today," Pelosi said. "Jobs are being created in the suburbs, but 75% of the families on welfare live in the inner city. The question is, how do we get the workforce to the workplace? The President appears to be ready to address these issues in the FY2000 budget."

President Clinton's Welfare-to-Work initiative includes:

• $430 million for 75,000 welfare-to-work housing vouchers, including $144 million in new funds for 25,000 additional vouchers. These vouchers help those on welfare stay employed by stabilizing their living situation;
• $150 million in Access-to-Jobs transportation funding from $75 million, doubling the number of individuals and communities that can receive transportation assistance;
• $150 million to help fathers fulfill their responsibilities by working, paying child support, and playing a responsible part in the their children's lives by requiring every state to use a minimum of 20 percent of their Welfare-to-Work funds for low-income fathers who sign personal responsibility contracts committing them to work and pay child support.