Obama sponsored state-level welfare law

Michelle Obama spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Denver on Aug. 25, 2008, dwelling largely on a personal portrait of her home life with Barack Obama and her upbringing in a working-class family on Chicago's South Side.

She concluded her speech with a call to civic duty.

"I believe that each of us — no matter what our age or background or walk of life — each of us has something to contribute to the life of this nation. It's a belief Barack shares — a belief at the heart of his life's work. ...

"It's what he did in the Illinois Senate, moving people from welfare to jobs, passing tax cuts for hard- working families, and making sure women get equal pay for equal work."

Here, we'll look at a claim we checked previously, that Obama moved people from welfare to work.

The claim goes back to his days as a state senator in the Illinois legislature. President Bill Clinton and Congress significantly overhauled welfare in 1996, requiring recipients to work and setting time limits on benefits. The states in turn had to change their laws to meet the new federal requirements.

In 1997, Obama signed up as a chief co-sponsor (one of five in the Senate) on Illinois' version of the legislation.

But the Illinois governor at the time, Republican Jim Edgar, got a lot of credit as well. Press reports from the time referred to the plan as "the Edgar plan."

This isn't the first time Obama has referred to Illinois laws as if he passed them singlehandedly.

Also, in floor remarks from the time, Obama expressed less than full support for the federal legislation. He was particularly concerned that people removed from welfare would be able to receive training so they could earn a living wage.

“I am not a defender of the status quo with respect to welfare,” Obama said on the Illinois Senate floor. “Having said that, I probably would not have supported the federal legislation, because I think it had some problems. But I’m a strong believer in making lemonade out of lemons. ... I think this is a good start, and I urge support of this bill."

Nevertheless, the legislation's primary role was welfare reform, and the legislative record shows that Obama had a leadership role in getting it passed. For these reasons, we find Obama's claim Mostly True.