ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 7, 1996 TAG: 9602070055
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: From Cox News Service and The Associated Press
Republican and Democratic governors have done in three days what Congress and President Clinton have been unable to do for more than a year: agree on overhauls of the Medicaid and welfare systems.
The governors, meeting in a hotel between the White House and the Capitol, said Tuesday that they would send their recommendations ``both ways on Pennsylvania Avenue'' in hopes that they might inspire a deal between Clinton and Congress.
But the symbolism of the governors' bipartisan agreements may prove more important than the substance. ``We're kind of props, in a way,'' said Gov. George W. Bush, R-Texas.
Indeed, neither Clinton nor Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, R-Kan., leaped to embrace the recommendations during speeches Tuesday to the National Governors Association meeting, although parts of the governors' plans were specifically designed to appeal to each of them. For Clinton, it was guarantees of aid to the most helpless, and for Dole, more state control over the distribution of federal aid.
Dole and Clinton praised the governors' efforts, but only in broad terms.
``This is a huge step in the right direction,'' Clinton said, adding quickly, ``I still have some concerns.''
In a similar vein, Dole told the governors that he had conferred with House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., and said, ``we're prepared to act.''
The governors broke into applause before Dole quietly added: ``Now, we might have to make a few little changes when we get it up there'' to the Capitol.
In Burbank, Calif., Gingrich said he thought that by early March, ``We have a very real chance of getting this out of the House and to the Senate.''
Gov. Bob Miller, D-Nev., said that over seven years, the governors' Medicaid proposal would save between the $59 billion that Clinton advocated and the $85 billion in savings wanted by Republicans.
Preliminary figures indicated that the governors' welfare plan would add about $10 billion to the cost of the welfare bill Congress approved and Clinton vetoed last year. That leaves it about halfway between the $40 billion in savings sought by Clinton and the $60 billion in savings sought by Republicans.
Clinton said that the spirit with which the Democratic and Republican governors achieved this ``very impressive accomplishment'' should jump-start the balanced-budget talks that stalled several weeks ago.
Welfare and Medicaid are two of the costliest items at both the federal and state levels, eating up as much as 20 percent of state spending.
Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, the association's Republican chairman, expressed hope that Congress would resist urges to tinker with the plan:
``Governors really understand the program better than the people on Capitol Hill do. We have to manage this program. We know what works, what doesn't work, where the problem areas are.'' he said. ``Hopefully, they would defer to our judgment on this particular subject.''
The Medicaid proposal would, as Clinton insisted it must, retain the guarantee of coverage for society's most vulnerable, particularly pregnant women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities.
Funding for states would be based on need, but they would be able to tap into a separate pot of federal dollars during emergencies or economic downturns.
The proposal also seeks ``complete flexibility'' for states to determine the amount, duration and scope of services and says they must be free to use ``all available'' health care delivery systems without seeking special permission from the federal government.
On welfare, the governors suggested several changes to the overhaul bill Clinton vetoed last month, including adding $4 billion for child care.
Governors also want $1 billion added to a contingency fund they can draw from to compensate for increased caseloads. Their proposal keeps bonuses for states that reduce out-of-wedlock births and exceed employment-related performance targets, and gives states the final say on limiting benefits for children born into families on welfare.
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Gov. George Allen (left) shakes hands Tuesday withby CNBSenate Majority Leader Bob Dole before Dole's address to governors.
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