Schwarzenegger defends plans to reform welfare

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday defended his proposals to reform welfare and other social programs as negotiations over closing California’s $26.3 billion deficit remained frozen.

Democrats are upset that Schwarzenegger has demanded the reforms as part of any budget-balancing deal, saying such issues should be discussed separately from the state’s annual spending plan. The governor’s office says his reforms will save taxpayers $1.7 billion a year, a figure disputed by advocates for the poor.

At a Wednesday news conference, Schwarzenegger stood by his proposal to drop welfare recipients if they cannot show they are training or looking for work.

“We’ll give you the bootstrap, but you have to pull yourself up,” the governor said.

Administration officials said California’s policies have allowed poor people to stay on welfare longer than the federal five-year cap.

John Wagner, director of the state Department of Social Services, said lax sanctions have led to a high number of welfare recipients in California. He said California is home to 30 percent of all welfare families nationwide who are receiving federal cash assistance, compared to 3 percent in Texas and 7 percent in New York. California accounts for 12 percent of the nation’s total population.

Schwarzenegger said his proposed policy changes would match sanctions already imposed by other states when families fail to meet work requirements.

The governor’s office says the proposals would save money by eliminating support services for families not meeting work requirements and reduce the time a family can receive cash assistance to two years, down from the federal maximum of five years.

He also would require those families not meeting work participation rules to see a caseworker every six months.

Schwarzenegger said the Democratic-controlled Legislature has put off such reforms for far too long.

“It’s always important to have a safety net … but not to abuse the safety net,” the governor said.