[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 401 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 401

    Expressing support for designation of the month of May 2021 as 
              ``National Child Poverty Prevention Month''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 14, 2021

 Mr. Rush (for himself, Ms. Bass, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Mr. 
 Higgins of New York, Ms. Jacobs of California, Ms. Lee of California, 
  Mr. Lowenthal, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Ms. Newman, Ms. Norton, Ms. 
Roybal-Allard, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Torres 
   of New York, and Ms. Williams of Georgia) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Expressing support for designation of the month of May 2021 as 
              ``National Child Poverty Prevention Month''.

Whereas child poverty refers to the share of children under age 18 who live in 
        families with incomes below the Federal poverty level;
Whereas approximately 1 in 6 children under the age of 18 lives below the 
        Federal poverty level, totaling 11,900,000 children;
Whereas 15.5 percent of children under the age of 5 were living in poverty in 
        2019, the latest year with publicly available data;
Whereas children who live in poverty are often subject to other adverse 
        circumstances including homelessness, including 1,500,000 children in 
        the 2017-2018 academic school year;
Whereas children who live in poverty are often subject to other adverse 
        circumstances including abuse;
Whereas children who live in poverty can face long-term negative outcomes, 
        including poverty as an adult and lifelong health consequences;
Whereas lost productivity, worsened health, and increased crime stemming from 
        child poverty cost the Nation about $700,000,000,000 dollars a year, or 
        about 3.5 percent of GDP;
Whereas the COVID-19 public health emergency has increased the likelihood of 
        child poverty;
Whereas, since May 2020, the share of children with at least 1 unemployed parent 
        has consistently remained above rates reported during the peak of the 
        Great Recession, with more than 4 in 10 children living in a household 
        struggling to meet basic expenses; and
Whereas recent studies suggest that food insecurity has increased among families 
        with children by 280 percent: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the designation of National Child Poverty 
        Prevention Month;
            (2) recognizes the national impact of the prevalence of 
        poverty among America's children;
            (3) supports intervention and prevention efforts to reduce 
        the number of children in the United States suffering from 
        poverty; and
            (4) calls on the people of the United States to observe 
        National Child Poverty Prevention Month with appropriate 
        programs and actives that promote awareness and prevention of 
        child poverty in communities across the country.
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