Governors Seek Wider Authority on Medicaid Clinton and Congress Will Study Proposals

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The nation's governors proposed Tuesday that they be given much broader authority to run Medicaid as they see fit, while still preserving a guarantee of health care benefits for the needy.

The governors also compromised on a bipartisan plan to overhaul welfare. They then called on President Bill Clinton and Congress to adopt their new proposals to end the budget dispute between the White House and Congress.

The administration and GOP leaders responded by immediately expressing interest in the governors' broad if somewhat vague prescriptions. Clinton told the governors, "This is a huge step in the right direction." House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., …