[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 55 (Tuesday, April 17, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H1855-H1856]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1100
                           POVERTY IN AMERICA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Lee) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. LEE of California. As cofounder and cochair of the Congressional 
Out of Poverty Caucus, I rise today to continue talking about the tide 
of poverty that impacts every single district all across our country. I 
rise to call on all of my colleagues to come together to reignite the 
American Dream for all Americans by helping to create the millions of 
new jobs that they so desperately need.
  Mr. Speaker, Social Security, Medicare and the critical benefits to 
feed hungry children in America did not cause our deficits. Our 
Nation's debt is a direct result of the Republicans' two unfunded wars, 
their failed economic policies, and the totally failed oversight of the 
financial services sector by the Bush administration regulators. And 
giving more tax cuts to the super-rich and their corporations will only 
make the deficits worse and will do nothing to grow our economy.
  Mr. Speaker, let's not pass another $46 billion loophole for the 
wealthy 1 percent. Mr. Cantor's H.R. 9 is yet another tax holiday that 
would only increase the deficit and will fail to create new jobs. We 
should be passing laws that protect the health and safety of our 
Nation's most vulnerable, like our children and our seniors. And we 
must pass laws that provide some relief for the millions of Americans 
still struggling to find a good job. Mr. Speaker, any so-called 
``jobless recovery'' where you and your family are still out of work is 
really no recovery at all. That is why we simply cannot seek to balance 
the budget on the backs of the poor, our seniors, and struggling 
families across America.
  The Republican budget, the Ryan budget, seeks to do just that. 
Actually, the Republican budget really is not serious about balancing 
the budget at all. Their budget guts, mind you, guts food stamps for 
our families in a time of such desperate need, it cripples Medicaid and 
ends Medicare as we know it today. Their budgets make these draconian 
cuts not to balance the budget but to create even more tax giveaways to 
millionaires and to massive corporations.
  Mr. Speaker, we can do better than blame the poor and the powerless 
for the greed and the corruption of the rich and powerful. We can do 
better, and we must do better for all of the American people. We can 
protect the most vulnerable Americans, grow our economy, and reduce our 
deficits. Critical programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 
Program, better known as SNAP, not only feeds hungry children and 
families, but it supports the overall economy. Every dollar of SNAP 
benefits generates $1.84 in our economic activity. SNAP benefits reduce 
long-term health care costs, improve the educational performance of 
children, and help to stabilize and improve the long-term economic 
outcomes of the families who receive these benefits. All of those 
positive outcomes help boost the entire economy from top to bottom.
  If people are able to buy a little more in the grocery store, someone 
has to grow it, pack it, and ship it. All of those things lead directly 
to more jobs. So making cuts on struggling families during hard times 
is not only heartless, mean and immoral, but it also makes no sense 
because it doesn't reduce the deficit.
  Mr. Speaker, there is a proposal to get our fiscal house in order 
even while we protect American families and invest in a stronger and 
more prosperous future. The Congressional Progressive Caucus budget, 
the Budget for All, would do just that. This budget makes smart and 
targeted cuts that preserve our national security, protect Social 
Security and Medicare, and extends and expands critical unemployment 
benefits for millions of Americans, including those who have hit 99 
weeks where they are no longer eligible. These are the people who are 
still struggling to find a good job.
  The Budget for All would ask that the wealthiest 1 percent and the 
world's biggest corporations pay their fair share so that we can afford 
to invest in our children's future and grow our economy.
  America cannot afford another year of inaction and bills that pander 
to narrow special interests. Let's pass the President's American Jobs 
Act and pass a robust transportation bill that

[[Page H1856]]

will fund our Nation's critical infrastructure priorities, fund green 
public transportation projects, and create real jobs. It's time that we 
all come together to put Americans back to work.

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