[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 79 (Wednesday, June 15, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H4493]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H4493]]
                              {time}  1030
                   CONGRESS SHOULD ERADICATE POVERTY

  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I believe that this Congress 
has a moral obligation to eradicate poverty; to be able to stand up for 
those that cannot speak for themselves.
  Tragically, in the backdrop of an administration who celebrates an 
economy that is on a track going toward a train wreck, the President's 
statement about a positive economy came 1 day after disappointing job 
numbers showed our economy created only 78,000 new jobs. This number is 
one-half of the 150,000 jobs that must be created each month to keep up 
with our increasing population.
  Americans need to work. Americans need to have the opportunity for an 
income to provide for their families. This tragedy of job creation is 
the worst since Herbert Hoover. And of course our congressional 
colleagues believe that we should be excited.
  Well, my challenge is if poverty is raging in America, we have a 
moral obligation to those working at Burger King and elsewhere to give 
them opportunities to move up. Why do we not stop the war in Iraq, 
invest in America, and eradicate poverty?

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