[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 971 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 971

     Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the War on Poverty and 
                    acknowledging its shortcomings.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 17, 2024

Mrs. Watson Coleman (for herself, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Johnson of 
Georgia, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mrs. Peltola, Mr. 
 Mullin, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Norton, Mr. McGarvey, 
   Ms. Tokuda, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Ms. 
 Jackson Lee, Mr. Trone, Ms. Sewell, Ms. Adams, Ms. Wilson of Florida, 
and Ms. Omar) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
             the Committee on Oversight and Accountability

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
     Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the War on Poverty and 
                    acknowledging its shortcomings.

Whereas, 60 years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared an unconditional War 
        on Poverty in his first State of the Union Address on January 8, 1964;
Whereas the War on Poverty sought to address the high rate of poverty in the 
        United States, including by implementing measures to prevent poverty;
Whereas the War on Poverty was defined by the 1964 Economic Opportunity Act 
        which created the Office of Economic Opportunity to focus Federal 
        attention and administration of antipoverty initiatives;
Whereas the War on Poverty permanently codified the Supplemental Nutrition 
        Assistance Program in 1964 and other critical food assistance programs;
Whereas the War on Poverty implemented one of the biggest reformations in 
        education policy through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
        1965;
Whereas the War on Poverty created Medicare and Medicaid through the Social 
        Security Amendments of 1965;
Whereas the War on Poverty established the Department of Housing and Urban 
        Development and what would become the Department of Health and Human 
        Services;
Whereas poverty declined by 30 percent within 5 years after the War on Poverty 
        was declared and the country was on track to effectively end poverty 
        within two decades;
Whereas subsequent progress has been incomplete and sometimes temporary, in part 
        due to the failure of economic growth to deliver widely shared 
        prosperity;
Whereas the Johnson administration rejected calls for a guaranteed income and 
        former Presidents of both parties have acknowledged limited income 
        security initiatives as a shortcoming of the War on Poverty;
Whereas the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom brought nationwide 
        attention to issues of poverty by fighting for economic justice through 
        guaranteed employment, education, and guaranteed housing as means to 
        ensure a minimum living standard for all;
Whereas the War on Poverty failed to address ensuring fair and good jobs for all 
        who can work and failed to adequately prepare people for the workforce;
Whereas the United States has the highest incidence of low-paid work among the 
        wealthiest nations;
Whereas antipoverty legislation has not adapted to the poverty landscape today 
        and has not followed through on the successes of the War on Poverty; and
Whereas the 2021 fully refundable child tax credit cut children's poverty in 
        half for that year, and thus proved that there are policy options that 
        the Federal Government is failing to use: Now therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) commemorates the 60th anniversary of President Lyndon 
        B. Johnson's declared War on Poverty;
            (2) acknowledges that the War on Poverty was a resolute 
        effort to decrease poverty and laid the groundwork to create an 
        equitable and prosperous society for all Americans;
            (3) acknowledges that the War on Poverty had shortcomings 
        that need to be rectified;
            (4) acknowledges that the shortcomings of the War on 
        Poverty disproportionately affect racial minorities and those 
        low on the socioeconomic ladder;
            (5) acknowledges that as long as poverty exists, citizens 
        will not be able to take full advantage of opportunities in the 
        United States;
            (6) recognizes that poverty is harmful to the economy and 
        results in lost economic productivity;
            (7) encourages the Federal Government to continue to undo 
        harmful policies that have kept Americans in poverty, such as 
        reforming the criminal justice system, making education 
        affordable and accessible, and guaranteeing housing and other 
        basic benefits; and
            (8) calls upon the Federal Government to continue to 
        address poverty in the United States by building upon and 
        extending the framework of the War on Poverty.
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