31.   But over six decades of federal welfare guarantees the proportion of children in poverty has been rising.

32.   But on the whole, states are not using much of the authority they received under the new federal welfare law to make drastic changes.

33.   But the lower federal courts were divided over whether the regulations complied with various provisions of federal welfare law.

34.   But the new federal welfare law enacted many of the changes he had sought, like time limits and work requirements for benefits.

35.   But the plan also includes worthwhile features that go beyond what other states are likely to propose to soften the blow of the new federal welfare law.

36.   But the state dusted off the proposal in the wake of federal welfare reform, which was approved by Congress last summer.

37.   But the administration hopes eventually to include people who receive money under the much larger federal welfare program, Aid to Families With Dependent Children.

38.   But there are other problems that may result from the way New York and other states have spent their federal welfare grants.

39.   But Wendell Primus, a former federal welfare official who resigned last year to protest the new federal law, offered a different interpretation.

40.   But unlike New York, other states in the metropolitan region have either spent all their federal welfare money or say they plan to do so.