[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 26, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H350-H353]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1530
                   POVERTY IN AMERICA AWARENESS MONTH

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree 
to the resolution (H. Res. 1024) expressing

[[Page H351]]

support for designation of January as Poverty in America Awareness 
Month.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 1024

       Whereas, in 2008, the Census Bureau found that the number 
     of people living in poverty has jumped by nearly 2,600,000 to 
     39,800,000, the highest number since 1960;
       Whereas that same report found that the percentage of 
     people living in poverty, 13.2 percent, rose to the highest 
     level since 1997;
       Whereas, in 2008, the number of children who lived in 
     poverty increased by 744,000 to 14,000,000;
       Whereas the share of people in the United States who have 
     incomes that fall below half of the Federal poverty line 
     reached 5.7 percent, or 17,100,000 people, its highest level 
     since 1994;
       Whereas the next Census report on poverty will likely 
     illustrate higher levels of poverty as the report will 
     reflect data from 2009, a year in which the economy 
     experienced substantial job loss and historic levels of long-
     term unemployment, leading some experts to project that the 
     overall poverty rate may increase by 1.5 percentage points 
     and the percentage of children living in poverty may increase 
     by 6 percentage points in the next report;
       Whereas, between 1989 and 2000, the overall poverty rate 
     declined by 1.5 percentage points and child poverty decreased 
     by 3.4 percentage points, those achievements have been nearly 
     reversed as the overall poverty rate increased by 1.9 
     percentage points and child poverty increased by 2.8 
     percentage points from 2000 to 2008;
       Whereas there is broad consensus among researchers and 
     policy experts that the Federal poverty measure is outdated 
     and inadequate in determining the depth and extent of poverty 
     in the United States;
       Whereas rising levels of poverty and economic hardship have 
     a severe impact on the overall well-being of children in the 
     Nation;
       Whereas the U.S. Census Bureau and other organizations have 
     highlighted the unmet needs that existed for some of the most 
     vulnerable families prior to the recession;
       Whereas while the Federal Government has provided critical 
     assistance to needy individuals and families in their time of 
     need, more can and should be done to strengthen the Nation's 
     safety-net programs, and other programs investing in 
     communities and families to ensure that all needy people in 
     the United States have access to the support services for 
     which they are eligible;
       Whereas, during the present economic downturn, Congress 
     should do more to help individuals and families rise out of 
     poverty and maintain economic stability through the use of a 
     variety of programs promoting education and training, 
     childcare assistance, housing security, and related services; 
     and
       Whereas it would be appropriate to designate the month of 
     January 2010 as Poverty in America Awareness Month: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That--
       (1) the House of Representatives--
       (A) supports the designation of Poverty in America 
     Awareness Month; and
       (B) recognizes the important contributions of those 
     individuals and organizations that have made a commitment to 
     providing critical support and services to needy individuals 
     and families; and
       (2) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that--
       (A) eradicating poverty in the United States should be the 
     goal for all people in the United States, including all 
     levels of government;
       (B) the severe economic downturn has highlighted the need 
     to ensure that the Nation's most vulnerable individuals and 
     families are able to meet their most fundamental needs during 
     a time of financial crisis; and
       (C) Congress should recommit itself to helping individuals 
     and families facing economic hardship receive the assistance 
     they need and deserve in moving towards greater economic 
     security through programs under Title IV of the Social 
     Security Act and other related programs.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. McDermott) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ginny 
Brown-Waite) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Washington.


                             General Leave

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on H. Res. 1024.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Washington?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise today in support of recognizing the designation of January as 
``Poverty in America Awareness Month.''
  In 2008, there were nearly 40 million Americans living in poverty, 
including one in every five children. There were also more than 49 
million Americans living in households that the USDA calls ``food 
insecure,'' which is really just a technical way to say that those 49 
million Americans--nearly one out of every four children--had 
experienced hunger. While poverty affects every segment of our 
population, these figures are drastically higher for children in 
single-parent families and in black and Latino households.
  At the same time, a recent report showed that the top 1 percent of 
the richest Americans now hold the greatest proportion of our Nation's 
wealth since 1928. For the wealthiest Nation in the world, this is 
completely unacceptable, and we must readjust our priorities. In fact, 
the way we measure poverty is badly outdated.
  The current poverty threshold is calculated by taking the cost of a 
minimal diet in 1955 and multiplying that number by 3 and then 
adjusting this amount for inflation. That method may have made some 
sense when the measure was created in the 1960s because the cost of 
food actually made up about one-third of a family's average 
expenditure, but today, families only spend about one-seventh of their 
income on food, and our current measure fails to capture the costs of 
basic necessities such as clothing, utilities, and shelter.
  What we define as poverty no longer reflects at all what it really 
means to be poor in this country. Using our current method of measuring 
poverty, we don't even consider a family of four making just $23,000 
poor. There's something wrong with our formula, and a majority of 
Americans agree with a higher threshold.
  Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously said, ``You can't solve a 
problem until you first learn how to measure it.'' We are making great 
progress in moving toward the publication of a new measure of poverty 
that reflects the economic and social realities in this country. An 
accurate measurement is essential in determining how to best tackle 
this problem. If the moral cause of helping the poor doesn't serve as 
motivation to help struggling Americans rise out of poverty, maybe the 
economic argument will.
  Economists estimate that persistent child poverty alone costs our 
society an estimated $500 million a year in lost productivity and 
increased spending on health care and the criminal justice system. More 
and more Americans are slipping through the mesh of our badly tattered 
safety net, and we are at risk of losing an entire generation.
  As Congress discusses PAYGO and the deficit reduction agenda, I often 
hear the rhetoric that we can't drive up the deficit on the backs of 
our children. But we cannot abandon the needs of vulnerable groups with 
little political voice and certainly few lobbyists on K Street. Because 
the voices of the least among us are too often drowned out, we must 
take opportunities like this to draw attention to the realities facing 
poor Americans. Awareness is a critical step in finding solutions to 
improve the well-being of those living in poverty, so let us affirm the 
recognition of January as Poverty in America Awareness Month.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida. I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise today in support of House Resolution 1024, which expresses 
support for designating January as Poverty in America Awareness Month.
  As I'm sure my colleagues would agree, awareness of poverty is 
something that Congress should never lose sight of, not for one single 
day. But it also should be noted that poverty can only be eliminated in 
this country when there are jobs available for every able-bodied man 
and woman. I know this firsthand because I grew up in poverty. I know 
that the only way that my mother helped get my brother and me out of 
poverty was by having a great work ethic and working her way out of 
poverty.
  The government does not create jobs; small businesses do. The 
American people know this even if the majority in Congress does not. 
That is why CNN is reporting that 75 percent of Americans polled 
believe that at least half of the stimulus has been wasted, and a third 
of those believe that it actually has made the economy worse.

[[Page H352]]

  In a perfect world, the President could hold a jobs summit and 
everyone would breathe a sigh of relief as they went off to new jobs 
created. But in the real world, sitting around and talking about jobs 
does not magically make them appear. In a perfect world, the money to 
pay for the stimulus and the endless unemployment extensions would come 
from a magic tree growing on the South Lawn of the White House. But we 
know that unemployment benefits are no real substitute for a paycheck. 
We know that the stimulus didn't work. And we know that the closest 
thing the government has to a money tree is the money that it takes out 
of taxpayers' pockets.
  The bottom line is, if they are serious about reducing poverty, the 
President and my Democrat colleagues need to stop talking about jobs 
and start working with Republicans to support and facilitate an economy 
that will create them. Specifically, the Democrats, who control the 
progress of legislation in this town, should do three things:
  First, they need to end their obsession with the trillion-dollar 
takeover of health care, because this single-minded approach is coming 
at the expense of everything else that matters to the American public.
  Second, the tax code should be reformed to protect workers' wages, to 
encourage investment and entrepreneurship, to reward saving, and to 
provide the American people with the confidence and certainty about 
their financial future.
  And third, my Democrat colleagues need to take a long, hard look at 
their failed trillion-dollar stimulus plan and fix it. Don't just 
borrow another hundred billion dollars here and there and hope that it 
works better this time.
  Raising awareness about poverty is important, and I support this 
legislation. But before we spend too much time patting ourselves on the 
back for this feel-good resolution, let us get down to business in a 
bipartisan manner and really do the hard work of making this economy 
great again.
  With that, Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlelady 
from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum).
  Ms. McCOLLUM. In the wealthiest country in the world, far too many of 
our citizens live in poverty, and the number is growing. Mr. McDermott 
and Chairman Rangel, thank you for bringing this important resolution 
to the floor.
  Families in Minnesota and across our country are hurting. The economy 
may be improving on Wall Street, but on Main Street people are hurting 
and they're afraid. Unemployed workers are worried about where and how 
they will find a job and whether they can survive after their 
unemployment insurance runs out. Our neighbors with jobs are facing 
hours being cut, facing pay cuts, and they're in fear of also losing 
their jobs.
  The housing crisis has driven families from their homes, and the 
homeless shelters are filled. Families are sleeping in their cars. 
Access to basic health care and putting food on the table are now a 
struggle for far too many Americans. More families are falling below 
the poverty line and they need our help.
  In 2008, one in eight residents of Minnesota's Fourth Congressional 
District, which I represent, was living in poverty--over 68,000 men, 
women, children, and seniors. The number is certainly growing with the 
economic recession, and that means children are going hungry, parents 
lack day care and reliable transportation to get a job, seniors 
struggle to pay rent. And yes, many illnesses are left unattended.
  Yesterday, I visited a Head Start site in St. Paul, and the staff 
members there are worried about food insecurity for the children in 
their classrooms. It is unacceptable that children would go hungry.
  The role of the Federal Government is to keep our country safe and to 
provide an opportunity for people to improve their lives. We have much 
work to do. But because of the Democrats in Congress passing the 
Recovery Act, an estimated 60.1 million Americans did not fall below 
the poverty line, including 66,000 Minnesotans.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 additional minute to the 
gentlewoman.
  Ms. McCOLLUM. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, 
because if we're going to defeat poverty and create jobs and economic 
opportunity for all Americans, we need to reach out to get to know 
those Americans who need our help the most, those in poverty.
  Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida. Madam Speaker, in closing, I want 
to reiterate that there still is much work to be done--and undone--to 
breathe new life into this economy. The Democrats told Americans that 
if their stimulus passed, unemployment would stay below 8 percent and 
millions of Americans would continue receiving paychecks. Instead, the 
stimulus passed and a record 12 million Americans are now collecting 
unemployment checks. As predicted, that is triggering massive State tax 
hikes that will continue for years to come.
  Frankly, Madam Speaker, that is why the stimulus isn't working. Every 
dollar spent by government is a dollar that first must be taken out of 
the economy. That dollar of government spending is a dollar that a 
business owner can use to hire a new worker and it's a dollar that a 
mother can use to feed her child.
  My colleagues will say that this is what the stimulus was supposed to 
do, but what they won't tell you is that the government wastes 50 cents 
collecting that dollar and fumbling around trying to put it back into 
the economy. As part of our awareness of poverty, let us also be aware 
of that.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, today I rise in support of 
House Resolution 1024 ``Expressing support for designation of January 
as poverty in America awareness month.'' This resolution seeks to 
designate the month of January as an official ``Poverty in America 
Awareness Month,'' and also expresses the sentiments of the House of 
Representatives that eradicating poverty in the United States should be 
the goal of all American citizens--especially those in government 
positions.
  Over the last several decades the numbers of people living in poverty 
in the United States has steadily increased to a high point in 2008 of 
over 39 million Americans living below the Federal poverty line.
  This is a particularly important issue for the people living in my 
home district in Houston, Texas where the number of residents with 
income below the poverty level in 2007 was 20.7 percent, which is 
several percentage points higher than the Texas State average of 16.3 
percent.
  These problems have been further exacerbated by the recent economic 
downturn which has pushed many American families to a financial 
breaking point. Over the past 10 years much of the progress that was 
made during the 1990s was reversed as the overall poverty rate 
increased by 1.9 percent.
  As the Chairwoman of the Congressional Children's Caucus I also 
understand the severe impact that poverty can have on children in the 
United States. In fact, 14 million of the 39 million Americans 
currently living below the poverty line are children. For children, 
growing up in poverty can have numerous negative effects on development 
ranging from malnutrition to poor education.
  As Americans we can not allow underprivileged children in our Nation 
to be overlooked and ignored. We must ensure that all children of all 
income levels in this country are provided with quality education, 
proper nutrition and access to support services.
  Furthermore, we can not allow hard-working American citizens to 
continue to fall below the Federal poverty line. That is why it is 
important that we support this resolution as it would bring further 
attention to this important matter and provide an opportunity to 
reverse the growing trend of poverty in the United States.
  Officially establishing the month of January as ``Poverty in America 
Awareness Month,'' would seek to improve the lives of our citizens as 
well as increase advocacy for some of the most vulnerable families in 
our Nation.
  I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. I also ask my 
colleagues for their continued support for the 39 million Americans 
currently living in poverty.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to applaud the 
actions of the House of Representatives in addressing poverty in 
America and designating January as Poverty in America Awareness Month. 
I strongly support H. Res. 1024 and urge my colleagues to support this 
piece of legislation.
  The Census Bureau's poverty statistics are alarming. In 2008, 13.2 
percent of people were living in poverty. This statistic was even worse 
for children under 18 years old. In 2008, 19 percent of children under 
18 years old were living in poverty. In my state, Georgia, 14.3 percent 
of people were living below the poverty level in 2007.

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  Poverty has many adverse effects on society. Poor Americans are less 
likely to eat healthy, which leads to poor health. Poor health can make 
study and work difficult. Poor education and the inability to work can 
adversely affect individual income, and the American economy as a 
whole.
  This resolution expresses the sense of the House that eradicating 
poverty in the United States should be the goal for all people in the 
United States. Further, this resolution recognizes that the severe 
economic downturn, and double-digit unemployment rate, increases the 
need for Congress to commit itself to helping individuals and families 
facing economic hardship.
  I join the chairman in urging my colleagues to support this important 
piece of legislation.
  Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida. I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, I urge the adoption of the resolution, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott) that the House suspend the 
rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1024.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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