The Nation - News from April 3, 1987

The Senate passed the first welfare reform bill of the 100th Congress, voting unanimously to give states cash bonuses for successfully placing long-term welfare recipients in private or unsubsidized jobs. The Jobs for Employable Dependent Individuals Act was established to spur states to train and find jobs for people--mainly welfare parents--who have received public assistance for two years or more and are likely to stay dependent for 10 years or longer. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) said it would target “the most needy and expensive of the poor.”