Alexander wants states in control of welfare:
The GOP presidential hopeful tells The Telegraph he wants to push reform 
further, getting Washington out of the picture.


By DIANE RIETMAN
Telegraph Staff


   Republican presidential candidate Lamar Alexander said Wednesday that 
attempts to reform welfare by GOP rivals Bob Dole of Kansas and Phil 
Gramm of Texas don't go far enough.
   Republicans are trying to dismantle dozens of federal welfare, job 
training and child care programs, replacing them with three block grants 
to the states.
   "Their philosophy I agree with more than the Democrats, but they (federal 
officials) shouldn't be telling us how to run welfare programs in our 
state," Alexander said during a meeting Wednesday with editors and 
reporters at The Telegraph. "If we fix it one more time in Washington, it 
will be that much worse."
   Alexander suggests taking all the money for Aid to Families with 
Dependent Children, food stamps and the Women, Infants and Children 
program and move it back to the states. They should determine how the 
money is spent, he said.
   "Why should Washington be trusted to be more compassionate than the 
people of Nashua?" he said.  "There are hundreds of different 
approaches governors of the different states could use."
   Alexander cited programs like Father Jerry Hill's homeless center in 
Dallas, where men stop using drugs and work their way back into society. 
He also mentioned the Rev. Henry Delaney's congregation in Savannah, 
Ga., which bought the crack houses on one street, moved out the drug 
dealers and moved in preachers.
   And it's that move to more state and local control that has the 
former Tennessee governor concerned about the Goals 2000 program, a 
modification of the America 2000 program developed in the 1980s. 
   As chairman of the National Governors Association, Alexander said he 
worked with then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton to develop a program that 
focused on education and radical change. The governors served as the 
advocates for the program on a community-to -community basis.
   As president, however, Clinton moved the governors out and allowed the 
Washington special interests and teacher unions to modify the program, 
Alexander said. It created a national school board that focused on 
delivery standards such as the amount of money being spent and the type 
of instructional materials used.
   "They've turned a national movement into a federal program. I'm 
very disappointed with that," Alexander said. 
   "It lays the groundwork for Washington telling the Nashua school board 
how to run the schools and how to pay for them. It's taking away your 
ability to operate your school."
   In March 1994, Alexander told the state Board of Education not to take 
the Goals 2000 money, a recommendation it supported this past June. That 
decision was upheld by Gov. Steve Merrill.
   "The best way is to move the tax base back so the money doesn't go to 
Washington, but if that isn't done, then move the money back to the state 
through a block grant with no strings," he said. 
   Alexander said the federal government should still fund college 
scholarships and loans, research and gather statistics to measure 
national and international standards. In addition, the president should 
serve as an advocate for change and improving academic standards, he said.
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The Telegraph               The daily newspaper for Nashua and
P.O. Box 1008               Southern New Hampshire since 1832.
Nashua, NH 03061            (603) 882-2741     Newsroom fax: (603) 882-2681
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