Fight over Putting More Work in 'Workfare' ; Bush Wants More Welfare Recipients to Work for Benefits, but Critics Fault Timing

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Don't mess with success - at least not too much.

That appears to be the philosophy as both the Bush White House and Democrats lay out their plans to modify welfare reform, the landmark law that's up for renewal this fall.

Although the president's proposals have generated considerable criticism this week, political observers describe them as more of a tuneup than an overhaul of the 1996 law. Neither party, it seems, wants to risk derailing a reform that has cut the welfare caseload in half, increased the income of single mothers, and helped bring child poverty to its lowest level in nearly 25 years.

"The big story here is that both parties have concluded …