Welfare Policy and Out-Groups Chapter 10 – Reluctance Illustrated: Policy Uncertainty during the Clinton Administration Welfare Policy and Out-Groups

Welfare Policy In 1993 the Family and Medical Leave Act was enacted, which entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave. On January 1st 1994 the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was enacted, which eliminated most tariffs on trade between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act was enacted in 1996, it replaces the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant and makes funding cuts in programs for low-income children, families, the elderly, people with disabilities, and immigrants.

Out-Groups One group that was an out-group during the Clinton era because of Conservative members of Congress was women and their reproductive rights. Although Congress created a measure that made the use or threat of force against workers or clients of abortion clinics a federal crime, women still found it difficult to exercise reproductive choice when confronted with pickets at clinics or when forced to travel great distances to find clinics that would perform abortions. Another group that was an out-group during the Clinton era because of California voters and Proposition 187 was immigrants. Proposition 187 declared illegal aliens ineligible for medical, social, and educational services, and though its implementation was halted because of court challenges and appeals, this law nonetheless triggered a national debate about immigration.

Which Act did President Clinton veto? (Jansson 2012, page 368 and 395) The Omnibus Reconciliation Act The Americans with Disabilities Act The Balanced Budget Act The Job Training Partnership Act

Answer The 1995 Omnibus Reconciliation Act sought to eliminate the entitlement status of AFDC, Medicaid, and Food Stamps, which Clinton did not support.