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Federal-State Social Services Claims Statement on Signing H.R. 11370 Into Law.

June 12, 1978

I am today signing into law H.R. 11370, a bill authorizing appropriations for the settlement of all social services claims in dispute between States and the Federal Government under certain titles of the Social Security Act.

The bill authorizes an appropriation of $543 million to resolve disputes that have served as a continuing irritant to Federal-State relations for the past 6 years. These claims, arising under State social service programs, have been tied up in court so long it sometimes seemed they would never get out. The States and the Federal Government have spent vast sums of money during these legal tangles.

The bill signed today is the product of State and Federal efforts to achieve a mutually satisfactory resolution. It shows what is possible when we work together in good faith.

The bill, which has received bipartisan and nearly unanimous support, is a settlement. As such, it recognizes both right and wrong on the part of the States and the Federal Government. It is a compromise fair to all.

Now the States and the Federal Government will be able to refocus their attention to provision of essential social services to needy persons. The Social Security Act provides a partial mechanism to meet some of these needs, and I expect it to become a more effective tool, now that we are freer to devote our energies and combined creative powers to the task.

Note: As enacted, H.R. 11370 is Public Law 95-291, approved June 12.

Jimmy Carter, Federal-State Social Services Claims Statement on Signing H.R. 11370 Into Law. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/248590

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