[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 4 (Wednesday, January 8, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H46-H56]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2013, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with many Members to 
mark President Lyndon Baines Johnson's 1964 State of the Union Address.
  Let me first take a moment to thank Leader Pelosi; our whip, Steny 
Hoyer; and the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congresswoman 
Marcia Fudge, for their tremendous leadership in leading our agenda for 
economic justice and for jobs.
  This is truly a historic day in our fight to provide every American 
with a pathway out of poverty. This morning, we were joined here at the 
Capitol by Linda Johnson Robb, President Lyndon Baines Johnson and Lady 
Bird Johnson's eldest daughter, to mark the 50th anniversary of her 
father's State of the Union speech in which he declared an 
unconditional war on poverty. At the time of his speech, the Nation's 
supplemental poverty rate was approximately 26 percent; 36 percent of 
low-income households struggled with food insecurity; and more than a 
third of American seniors were living in poverty.
  And let me tell you, President Johnson got it. He recognized in his 
speech that poverty is a national problem requiring national 
organization and support. He knew that in a great society it is 
absolutely essential that we prioritize investments that lift millions 
out of poverty. As a result of his vision, his daughter reminded us 
this morning of the bipartisan and bicameral effort that followed, 
benchmark antipoverty legislation passed during the Johnson 
administration, including--and I want to remind everyone of these major 
initiatives that have significantly changed the lives of millions of 
Americans--the Civil Rights Act, the Urban Mass Transportation Act, the 
Criminal Justice Act, the Food Stamp Act, the Older Americans Act, 
Social Security amendments, the Voting Rights Act, the Housing and 
Urban Development Act, the Public Works and Economic Development Act, 
the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act, the Amendment to 
the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Higher Education Act, the 
Child Nutrition Act, the Child Protection Act, and the National School 
Lunch Act, in addition to Head Start, Job Corps, of course food stamps, 
now known as SNAP, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.
  The result of these policies and programs are undeniable. The poverty 
rate was cut nearly in half by the mid-1970s. They even had a personal 
impact on many of us here, a personal impact on me, providing a 
critical bridge over troubled waters when I was a single mother in the 
seventies, trying to raise two boys and go to college. And I am forever 
grateful to the American people for being there for me when I needed 
them.
  And we know that today, 50 years later, these critical antipoverty 
programs continue to provide that support for vulnerable Americans and 
people living on the edge. Today, the Nation's supplemental poverty 
rate is now 16 percent, well below what it was in 1964. The programs 
put in place after the war on poverty, they work. They create economic 
security, return people to their dignity, and provide opportunities for 
Americans to lift themselves out of poverty.
  According to a report released by the Center for American Progress 
yesterday, without the safety net initiated as a part of the war on 
poverty, ``poverty rates today would be nearly double what they 
currently are.'' And I will now insert that report into the Record.

               [From americanprogress.org, Jan. 7, 2014]

                Key Findings From Our New National Poll

       One-quarter to one-third of Americans, and even higher 
     percentages of Millennials and people of color, continue to 
     experience direct economic hardship. Sixty-one percent of 
     Americans say their family's income is falling behind the 
     cost of living, compared to just 8 percent who feel they are 
     getting ahead and 29 percent who feel they are staying even. 
     Twenty-five percent to 34 percent of Americans report serious 
     problems falling behind in rent, mortgage, or utilities 
     payments or being unable to buy enough food, afford necessary 
     medical care, or keep up with minimum credit card payments. 
     While these numbers have somewhat retreated over the last 
     five years, they are still shockingly high, and the 
     disparities across demographic groups underscore how uneven 
     the current recovery has been.
       A majority of Americans have a direct personal connection 
     to poverty. Fifty-four percent of Americans say that someone 
     in their immediate or extended families is poor, a figure 
     that has actually increased 2 points

[[Page H47]]

     since we conducted our first poll in. Nearly two in three 
     African Americans (65 percent) report a direct connection to 
     poverty, while 59 percent of Hispanics say the same.
       Americans vastly overestimate the annual income necessary 
     to be officially considered poor. Perhaps expressing a more 
     realistic understanding of the economy than official 
     government measures currently capture, Americans on average 
     estimate that it takes just over $30,000 in annual income for 
     a family of four to be considered officially in poverty--
     about $7,000 more than the government's poverty line. Most 
     respondents in the focus groups were shocked to hear that the 
     official poverty line was as low as it is; many suggested 
     that it represents a disconnect with the reality of rising 
     prices over the last few years. Americans on average also 
     report that it would take more than $55,000 in annual income 
     to be considered out of poverty and safely in the middle 
     class.
       Americans now believe that nearly 40 percent of their 
     fellow citizens are living in poverty. When we conducted our 
     2008 poll, 13.2 percent of Americans were living below the 
     federal poverty line, but our survey found that Americans 
     guessed the number to be 29 percent. Today, with unemployment 
     at pre-financial crisis levels and a recovery ostensibly 
     underway for several years, government statistics tell us 
     that 15 percent of Americans live below the poverty level. 
     The public, however, believes that number is now 39 percent--
     a stunning 10-point increase that flies in the face of 
     economic indicators such as the unemployment rate, consumer 
     confidence, the financial markets, and gross domestic 
     product, or GDP.
       Americans strongly believe that poverty is primarily the 
     result of a failed economy rather than the result of personal 
     decisions and lack of effort. In a forced choice test of 
     ideas, nearly two in three Americans (64 percent) agree more 
     with a structural argument about the causes of poverty--
     ``Most people who live in poverty are poor because their jobs 
     don't pay enough, they lack good health care and education, 
     and things cost too much for them to save and get ahead,'' 
     underscoring the current economy's failings in the areas of 
     wages, health care, education, and cost of living. In 
     contrast, only 25 percent of Americans agree more with a 
     personal cause--``Most people who live in poverty are poor 
     because they make bad decisions or act irresponsibly in their 
     own lives.'' Even white conservatives and libertarians prefer 
     the structural vision of a failed economy over personal 
     reasons for poverty by a wide margin (63 percent to 29 
     percent).
       Retrospective evaluations of the ``war on poverty'' are 
     mixed, but Americans across ideological and partisan lines 
     believe the government has a responsibility to use its 
     resources to fight poverty. Americans do not generally have a 
     favorable impression of the term ``the war on poverty'' 
     without additional context about the programs and goals 
     associated with the larger project. But after introducing 
     information to describe the war on poverty and its impact, an 
     overwhelming percentage of Americans--86 percent--agrees that 
     the government has a responsibility to use some of its 
     resources to combat poverty. Moreover, a majority (61 
     percent) feels that the war on poverty has made a difference, 
     albeit not a major difference, in achieving its goals (41 
     percent say war on poverty has made a ``minor difference''; 
     20 percent say it has made a ``major difference''). 
     Retrospective evaluations of the war on poverty, however, are 
     heavily divided by ideology, partisanship, and race. Nearly 7 
     in 10 (69 percent) white liberals and progressives believe 
     the war on poverty has worked, and more than 6 in 10 (64 
     percent) white conservatives and libertarians believe the 
     opposite.
       Despite mixed feelings about the original war on poverty, 
     there is strong support for a more realistic goal of reducing 
     poverty by half over the next 10 years. Asked whether they 
     would support or oppose ``the President and Congress setting 
     a national goal to cut poverty in the United States in half 
     within ten years,'' 7 in 10 Americans said they would support 
     such a goal--40 percent of the public would strongly support 
     the goal--and only 22 percent would oppose it. This figure is 
     quite similar to the 74 percent of support reported in the 
     first study in 2008. Support for a national goal of cutting 
     poverty in half is very strong among African Americans (87 
     percent support, 58 percent strongly) and reaches roughly 80 
     percent among both Millennials (79 percent) and Latinos (79 
     percent). Sixty-five percent of whites support this goal as 
     do a majority of Democrats (89 percent), Independents (66 
     percent), and Republicans (54 percent).
       The public is clear about its priorities for reducing 
     poverty--jobs, wages, and education. Asked which two areas 
     they believe are most important for new investments, 40 
     percent of Americans choose ``creating jobs and increasing 
     wages''; 30 percent choose ``job training and workplace 
     preparation''; 25 percent choose ``elementary and secondary 
     education''; 23 percent choose ``college access and 
     affordability''; and 21 percent choose ``early childhood 
     education.''
       Americans also express very strong support for a number of 
     policies to help reduce poverty rates with particular 
     intensity around jobs, wages, and education but also on more 
     traditional safety net items. Of the 11 policy ideas tested, 
     five proposals received 80 percent or higher total support 
     and 50 percent or higher strong support from Americans. These 
     five policy proposals are: help low wage workers afford 
     quality child care (86 percent total support, 52 percent 
     strong support); expand nutrition assistance to provide 
     families with healthy food and enough to eat (85 percent 
     total support, 50 percent strong support); make universal 
     pre-kindergarten available for all children (84 percent total 
     support, 59 percent strong support); expand publicly funded 
     scholarships to help more families afford college (84 percent 
     total support, 54 percent strong support); and increase the 
     minimum wage and make sure it rises with inflation (80 
     percent total support, 58 percent strong support). A second 
     tier of anti-poverty proposals with roughly three-quarters 
     total support and more than 40 percent strong support 
     includes ideas for expanded tax credits like the Earned 
     Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit and access to 
     affordable health coverage, as well as proposals for a new 
     national jobs program and more refinancing of mortgages.
       Policymakers should feel confident that the American public 
     will support efforts to expand economic opportunity, increase 
     access to good jobs and wages, and maintain a robust social 
     safety net. Harsh negative attitudes about the poor that 
     seemingly defined political discussions throughout the 1980s 
     and 1990s have given way to public recognition that many 
     Americans--poor and middle class alike--are facing many 
     pressures trying to stay afloat and get ahead in the 
     difficult economic environment. Supporters of anti-poverty 
     efforts should not be complacent in their efforts, however, 
     and should recognize that although Americans back government 
     action to reduce poverty, questions remain about the 
     structure and scope of these efforts and how effective they 
     have been over time.

  Let me give you an example. SNAP lifted 5 million people out of 
poverty in 2012 alone; and according to a new report by the White 
House, released yesterday, unemployment benefits reduced poverty by 
nearly 1 percent in 2012 alone.
  Without Social Security, nearly half of our Nation's seniors would 
live in poverty; and since 2008, unemployment insurance has kept 11 
million people out of poverty, including 2.5 million children and 
adults in 2012.
  We are going to talk about not only the history this evening but also 
about the challenges ahead.
  I will now yield to Congresswoman Yvette Clarke from New York to 
speak about many of the challenges which remain, in addition to a 
historical perspective on the war on poverty.
  Ms. CLARKE of New York. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, five decades after President Johnson declared a war on 
poverty, economic inequality is pervasive in our society; and our work 
to reduce substantial disparities in income and wealth must continue. 
But we must not forget that the war on poverty has and will continue to 
improve the lives of millions of Americans.
  For who among us would tell a senior citizen that Medicare was a 
failure? Or tell the parents of a child who attends preschool under 
Head Start that that program doesn't work? Who among us would tell the 
families who have had access to desperately needed--and often 
lifesaving--health care as a result of Medicaid that that program was 
not worth the cost?
  Mr. Speaker, our work has not yet been completed. In December, we 
returned home to share the holiday season with our families, to gather 
at the dinner table, and to exchange gifts. However, millions of 
Americans were not as fortunate because Congress returned home without 
extending unemployment benefits to 1.3 million Americans, not including 
the millions of people who rely on them and their families.
  If unemployment benefits are not extended, approximately 5 million 
Americans are expected to lose emergency unemployment benefits over the 
next 12 months; and of that number, 383,000 are New Yorkers. 
Additionally, the lapse in unemployment benefits is likely to result in 
an increase in demand for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 
Program, known as SNAP.
  This is occurring at a time when the Republicans are contemplating 
making $40 billion in cuts to nutrition assistance. Already, 3,185,000 
New Yorkers are dealing with the impacts of the SNAP benefit cut that 
happened this past November due to an expiration of funding made 
available under the American Recovery Act.
  This is unfair. This is unjust. It makes no sense and, more 
importantly, it does not help Americans regain their economic footing. 
But we have the ability to correct this mistake by extending 
unemployment benefits and preventing further cuts to SNAP.
  Congress can affirm the common priorities that we share as a Nation 
and

[[Page H48]]

work together to make them a reality. We, as a Congress, must continue 
to work together to end poverty in America. Having said that, I yield 
back to the gentlelady in remembrance of President Johnson's 50-year 
war on poverty. We need to take up the battle once again.
  Ms. LEE of California. I now yield to the gentleman from North 
Carolina, Congressman G.K. Butterfield.
  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. I thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) 
for yielding and also for her passion and her extraordinary work on the 
issue of poverty and related causes.
  Mr. Speaker, 50 years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson made a very 
bold pronouncement. He declared a national war on poverty. President 
Johnson helped pave the way for so many low-income families, and I am 
proud today to recognize his immeasurable contributions to the battle 
against poverty.
  I understand that President Johnson's daughter is still on Capitol 
Hill. She visited with the Congressional Black Caucus today, and I just 
wanted to publicly thank her and thank the Johnson family for their 
contributions to America.
  Just last year, we commemorated the 50th anniversaries of the March 
on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King's historic speech, imploring 
all Americans to aspire towards a society of equality and acceptance. 
Dr. King's speech illustrated the racial realities faced by people of 
color since before even the Civil War.
  In 1964, President Johnson delivered a historic State of the Union 
Address right in this Chamber that exposed the tough racial 
inequalities present in the 1960s. He gave voice to the poor by 
contrasting the stark economic differences between the wealthy and the 
poor, and inspired a series of transformative laws, including the Civil 
Rights Act and the Economic Opportunity Act. Those laws, Mr. Speaker, 
established the first Federal framework to combat the racial and 
economic and educational and even employment inequities that were 
pervasive in our society. The landmark legislation enacted during the 
Johnson administration built upon the principles of the Declaration of 
Independence, the Emancipation Proclamation, the New Deal, and the 
civil rights movement.
  The work began by President Johnson more than a half a century ago 
continues today with no less urgency. While national poverty metrics 
have improved since the war on poverty began, income inequality is 
still a major problem today, and pockets of persistent poverty remain 
all across our country. In my congressional district, one in four 
people that I represent, including 36 percent of our children, live at 
or below the poverty level.
  Income inequality in America is getting worse. I want to say that 
again for emphasis: income inequality in America is getting worse, not 
better. And the gap between the haves and the have-nots continues to 
widen. The poverty rate now is the highest it has been since 1994; and 
in some parts of my district, median household incomes have dropped--
have dropped since the year 2000.
  This is a fitting week to recognize the anniversary of the war on 
poverty, as the Senate considers extending the emergency unemployment 
insurance for 3 months or more. More than 170,000 unemployed North 
Carolinians are considered long-term unemployed and have been searching 
for work for more than 26 weeks.
  Last year, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory dealt a devastating 
blow to the long-term unemployed by reducing State unemployment 
benefits, which caused the Federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation 
program to dissolve in our State. The Governor made this decision 
knowing its harmful impacts, making North Carolina the only State in 
the country to end emergency jobless benefits for its citizens. That 
decision forfeited $780 million in urgently needed Federal benefits for 
long-term unemployed North Carolinians and cost our State $1.5 billion 
in economic activity.
  We must stand up against those like Governor McCrory who seek to 
disenfranchise the less fortunate by continuing President Johnson's 
work, by extending the emergency unemployment insurance and other 
critical programs that help families through difficult times. We cannot 
afford to turn a blind eye to those who are most in need. We are not 
that type of country.
  Ms. LEE of California. I thank the gentleman from North Carolina.
  Now I would like to yield to the Democratic whip, Steny Hoyer, whose 
Democratic Whip's Task Force on Poverty, Income Inequality, and 
Opportunity I am honored and proud to chair. I thank him very much for 
being here and for his tremendous leadership.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentlelady for taking this time. I thank the 
gentlelady even more for taking the time and the focus and being 
indefatigable in making sure that the richest Nation on the face of the 
Earth focuses on the least of these in our country. I thank her for her 
leadership. I am proud that she is working on the Task Force on 
Poverty, Income Inequality, and Opportunity. And in chairing that 
effort for our caucus, she is doing an extraordinary job.

                              {time}  1630

  It is time, however, that all of us continue to do an extraordinary 
job. When President Johnson stood in this Chamber at that rostrum, Mr. 
Speaker, on January 8, 1964, he declared an ``unconditional war on 
poverty in America.'' That has been said so many times today. He 
launched a legislative agenda that led to the creation of Medicare, 
Medicaid, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and nutrition 
assistance for those at risk of going hungry, particularly our 
children.
  Today, thanks to that war on poverty, infant mortality has 
substantially decreased, childhood malnutrition has fallen 
significantly, and college graduations have risen.
  But that is not to declare victory. There is much yet to be done. The 
poverty rate for senior citizens in 1959 was 35 percent. Today, it is 9 
percent thanks to the New Deal and Great Society programs. Food stamps 
continue to keep as many as 4 million Americans out of poverty, which 
is why it is so critical to provide robust SNAP funding in the farm 
bill, Mr. Speaker.
  Fifty years, a half a century after President Johnson launched the 
war on poverty, as we take stock of the progress we have made, we must 
be candid in assessing the difficult challenges that remain before us. 
That is what Congresswoman Lee is bringing to our attention and to the 
attention of the country.
  Following the Great Recession, and with long-term unemployment higher 
than it was a few years ago, millions of our fellow Americans are today 
teetering on the edge of poverty while others still have yet to escape 
its grasp. In 2012, according to the Center on Budget and Policy 
Priorities, nearly 50 million people in America were poor in the 
richest land on the face of the Earth, and more than one in five of 
those were children.
  States and local governments, under pressure from reductions in 
Federal funding for domestic programs, are struggling to maintain the 
safety net that, for a generation, have placed a floor under those who 
have lost a job, fallen ill, or were born into dire circumstances.
  As middle class families have strained under the difficult conditions 
of the recession and its consequences, the lowest-income Americans have 
been forced to endure a severe lack of opportunities to enter the 
middle class. We want to promote jobs. We want to make sure the middle 
class can succeed, support themselves and their families and have the 
kind of life that we dream of and promise as an American. We also want 
to make sure that those who are not middle class can get into the 
middle class.
  In his State of the Union address in 1964, President Johnson said 
this:

       Very often, a lack of jobs and money is not the cause of 
     poverty but the symptom. The cause may lie deeper in our 
     failure to give our fellow citizens a fair chance to develop 
     their own capacities, in a lack of education and training, in 
     a lack of medical care and housing, in a lack of decent 
     communities in which to live and bring up their children.

  Poverty is the result, not the cause. Central to our ability to 
sustain the American dream is our responsibility to one another to make 
upward mobility possible.
  Right now, 1.4 million Americans--right now, Mr. Speaker--are 
worrying about meeting their basic needs since emergency unemployment 
insurance was cut off on December 28 of last year,

[[Page H49]]

3 days after Christmas, the season of giving, the season of caring, and 
the season of thinking about those who are in need. Every week that 
goes by without turning this lifeline back on will see another 72,000 
Americans lose their emergency income.
  Congress has the ability to restore these benefits right now, and 
Democrats, proud of our history leading the war on poverty, will 
continue to push and demand for that extension. Democrats will keep 
fighting for a strong, secure, and growing middle class by working to 
raise the minimum wage--and I see my friend from Maryland (Mr. Delaney) 
in the back of the Chamber; Congressman Delaney has been leading an 
effort in our State to make sure that we raise the minimum wage--and 
making sure the Affordable Care Act expands access to quality health 
care as intended.
  We must also create a pathway to citizenship and opportunity for 
undocumented workers who are living in the shadows in poverty as part 
of comprehensive immigration reform, and we must be vigorous in 
enforcing our laws that prevent discrimination in housing, hiring, and 
access to education.
  Mr. Speaker, if we are to make serious progress in the war on poverty 
in the years to come, it will have to be as a result of both parties 
working together to prioritize economic opportunity and upward 
mobility.
  Mr. Speaker, I will say that there are Republican leaders, and I 
applaud them for it, who are talking about and focusing on those in 
poverty, those who have little in our country. I applaud them for 
talking, but talk is not enough. We must invest in making sure that 
they can avail themselves of the promise of America, not by telling the 
most vulnerable Americans that they will have to fend for themselves, 
that their fellow citizens will not lend a helping hand during their 
time of need.
  I'm glad, Mr. Speaker, that President Obama has chosen to make 
reducing economic inequality a focus in 2014. This, Mr. Speaker, ought 
to be our sacred charge: to carry on the work that President Johnson 
and others began, without pause, until hunger, homelessness, and 
economic insecurity, in any form, no longer endanger the promise of our 
Nation.
  I thank the gentlelady for her leadership and for yielding.
  Ms. LEE of California. Thank you very much for that very powerful 
message, Mr. Hoyer.
  Let me now yield to Representative Danny Davis from Illinois who 
continues to remind us of the formerly incarcerated individuals who 
have families and children living below the poverty line.
  Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I certainly want to 
thank the outstanding gentlewoman from California for yielding.
  I am pleased to join with my colleagues to celebrate the 50th 
anniversary of the war on poverty declared by President Lyndon Johnson, 
a historic moment in our Nation's history when he affirmed a national 
priority to support those in need.

  One of the reasons that I got involved and ran for public office was 
because of the war on poverty and the programs it created. The war on 
poverty called for citizen involvement and participation to strengthen 
America. As I got more involved and more engaged, the more aware I 
became of the difficulties faced by individuals, families, and 
communities. Ultimately, I decided I would run for public office.
  The war on poverty has improved the lives of millions of low-income 
Americans through the creation of critical safety net programs such as 
the ESE Act assistance, Medicare, Medicaid, increased Social Security 
benefits, Head Start, legal assistance, investment in K-12 education, 
Federal college aid and loans, a permanent food stamp program, expanded 
housing assistance for low-income people, community health centers, 
mental health programs, and we could go on and on to talk about the 
programs.
  But the real reality is that we still have not fulfilled the dream of 
seriously reducing and eradicating poverty. So we must not only 
remember, we must not only talk, but we must act. And one of the best 
ways to start is to provide right now--right now--resources for 
individuals who are unemployed.
  I thank the gentlewoman.
  Ms. LEE of California. Thank you.
  Let me now yield to the gentlelady from California, Congresswoman 
Susan Davis, whom I served with in the California Legislature, who 
continues to remind us that middle-income individuals are worried at 
this point now of falling into the ranks of the poor. Thank you for 
being here.
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I certainly want to thank my 
colleague, Congresswoman Lee, for this opportunity and for, really, the 
privilege of working with her for so many years.
  Today, the 50th anniversary of the war on poverty, reminds us all 
that more work must be done. And if I could relate on a personal level, 
I don't believe that I would have had an opportunity to continue my 
education without having been about to further that at the time of the 
war on poverty. As someone who wanted to go into social work, it 
certainly was an opportunity for me to do that and to make a difference 
in that area.
  One of the most important steps that we can take is to make pre-K 
available to all American children. Today, only 69 percent of American 
4-year-olds are enrolled in early childhood education programs--only 69 
percent. You might be surprised to learn that that troubling statistic 
places us near the bottom--near the bottom--in terms of access among 
our advanced country OECD peers, in the bottom. In our global economy, 
that means many American children start behind least when they can 
afford to. They just cannot make it beyond that.
  The stakes to address this issue today have never been higher. Over 
the last decade, we have learned that early childhood education makes a 
big difference. We have learned that the achievement gap begins before 
our kids even reach kindergarten, and we have learned that quality pre-
K leads to better life outcomes in school, in careers, and in personal 
health. The research, indeed, shows that children who attend preschool 
are more likely to graduate high school, earn higher pay, and live more 
productive lives.
  Sadly, we are just not putting these lessons of the war on poverty 
when we began to address these issues, we are not putting these lessons 
into action. The argument for universal pre-K is not just a lofty moral 
imperative. That sounds good. No. It is good science and it is good 
economics. By some estimates, the return on investment is nearly seven 
to one. And that is why most economists agree that pre-K is a great 
investment; it is not just another expense.
  I know that parents throughout San Diego and across our country just 
want to give their kids the very best start in life, and we should be 
working together to make that happen, to make sure all our kids get a 
real chance to succeed. And that, Mr. Speaker, would be one gigantic 
step to elevate our children out of poverty.
  Ms. LEE of California. Thank you very much for your leadership and 
for being here with us tonight, Congresswoman Davis.
  I would now like to yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Rangel), someone who has been a fighter and a warrior for many, many 
years and who continues to remind us of our moral obligation, our 
religious obligation for many, to ensure that we continue this fight in 
the war on poverty.
  Mr. RANGEL. Let me first thank the gentlelady from California for 
carrying this torch during a time that there seems to be such a lack of 
sensitivity to the poor. As with Lyndon Johnson, there was a 
concentration of those people who vote--that is, the middle class--and 
somehow even now, 50 years later, we have a lot of concerns, and 
rightly so, about the middle class, but somehow the poor have just been 
written off. And the gentlelady from California and our minority leader 
together have reminded us that we have a basic obligation here that if 
you want to take care of the country and our spiritual needs, the poor 
cannot be excluded.
  So in listening more recently to the words that President Johnson 
spoke in the joint session in 1964, it was really an act of courage to 
talk about something that too many people seemed to be embarrassed 
about, and the fact is that we had a national obligation to take care 
of the lesser of our brothers and sisters.

[[Page H50]]

  Today we can take for granted Medicaid, Medicare, expansion of Social 
Security, incentives for our children, and earned income tax credits. 
All of it was done not as Blacks and Whites or northerners and 
southerners or Democrats and Republicans, but with a spirit that that 
was a part of the reason that we were sent to Congress, to make this a 
stronger Nation.

                              {time}  1645

  And it is interesting how moved so many people in the world were to 
hear the breath of fresh air coming from Rome and from the Pope, not a 
message to Catholics but a message to the world in pointing out that we 
have a responsibility to God, to thank Him or Her for what has been 
given to us; but, more importantly, to follow those Biblical guidelines 
that say that we have an obligation to think in terms of the lesser of 
our brothers and sisters. And so whether we are seeking warmer clothes 
or assistance during times of ill health, it seems to me that we have 
this political and we have this spiritual need.
  Finally, I would like to say to the gentlelady and those listening, I 
think from a patriot's point of view and from an economist's point of 
view and from a nationalist's point of view and from a national 
security point of view, this Nation cannot survive with expansion of 
the poor, the poverty of the middle class, and the wealthy just 
accumulating wealth by standing by doing nothing.
  What made this country great are not the rich and the poor, but those 
people who can hope to achieve for their children through education and 
hard work, to achieve anything that is possible for humankind to do, 
and this is what built that Nation. And today, it is frightening as we 
see the disparity between the very poor and the very wealthy, to see 
that even talks about it would have Presidents and Members of Congress 
to be called socialists and, indeed, even the Pope. But the fact 
remains that unless we have people who have the ability to purchase, 
unless we have small businesses that are responsible for most all of 
the jobs in this country, unless we have people manufacturing and 
providing goods and services, then we don't have an economy.
  And so no matter which way you look at it, from a political or 
economic point of view, if our Nation is not going to succeed in terms 
of economic security, it can no longer be concerned with its national 
security and the leadership position that we hold in the world.
  So let me thank the gentlelady for constantly reminding us that this 
isn't a one-day job that we have to do. This isn't a Kennedy, Lyndon 
Johnson, Democrat, Republican issue. This is something that the world 
is watching what we do with our own, and hoping that once we get our 
act together, perhaps we can do more for the world.
  Ms. LEE of California. I want to thank the gentleman for reminding us 
tonight of our moral obligation to the most vulnerable in our country. 
Thank you for being here.
  How much time do I have remaining?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from California has 27 
minutes remaining.
  Ms. LEE of California. Thank you very much.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlelady from Illinois (Ms. Duckworth), 
who will speak on behalf of not only her constituents but the entire 
country. She has come to Congress, hit the ground running, and 
continues to remind us of our veterans and the sacrifices that they 
have made, and to ensure their economic security. So many live on food 
stamps, unfortunately, as we speak. So thank you for being here.
  Ms. DUCKWORTH. I thank the gentlelady.
  Mr. Speaker, Lynn Richards of Elgin, Illinois, a town in Illinois 
that is well known for manufacturing everything from Elgin watches all 
of the way through to the Elgin street sweeper, still in use today, 
Lynn Richards of Elgin, Illinois, needs her unemployment insurance 
extended. In April, she lost her manufacturing job of 3 years. She and 
her husband kept their family afloat with the help of unemployment 
insurance. And now, 10 months later, she is pregnant with her second 
child. She said recently:

       I have been working since I was 20 years old. I have never 
     had this much trouble getting a job in my life. I have 
     applied to 200 places, and I have gotten less than 10 calls 
     and just a couple of interviews. No employer wants to hire 
     someone who is pregnant.

  Lynn is just one of 80,000 Illinoisans who have lost their 
unemployment insurance. I understand what these families are facing. 
When I was a teenager, my father, a combat veteran, was in his mid-
fifties and had worked since he had enlisted in the Marine Corps at 16. 
He lost his job. My dad did everything he could to find work, but was 
turned down again and again. My mother took in sewing, and I took a 
minimum-wage job to help make ends meet. Eventually my dad got a job, 
but Federal assistance programs were there to help keep my family 
afloat. Many Americans want to find work, but simply cannot. Punishing 
these families by taking away unemployment benefits is a terrible 
mistake.
  The absence of unemployment insurance is jeopardizing the economic 
progress that we are making. By removing the benefits to 80,000 
Illinois families, we are taking more than $25 million out of our 
economy every week. Let's put partisanship aside and extend 
unemployment insurance now for our families and our businesses.
  I thank the gentlelady from California again for her leadership on 
this issue.
  Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from 
Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro) whose subcommittee I serve on, the 
Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Human Services.
  Ms. DeLAURO. I thank the gentlelady for her leadership and her 
indefatigable pursuit of this cause and the focus of not just this 
caucus but the country on the issue of poverty and of the poor.
  Fifty years ago today, President Lyndon Johnson stood right behind 
where I stand now and urged the Congress to join him in working to end 
poverty in the United States. He said to this body:

       We have in 1964 a unique opportunity and obligation--to 
     prove the success of our system; to disprove those cynics at 
     home and abroad who question our purpose and our competence.
       If we fail, if we fritter and fumble away our opportunity 
     in needless, senseless quarrels between Democrats and 
     Republicans, or between the House and Senate, or between 
     Congress and the administration, then history will judge us 
     harshly. But if we succeed, if we can achieve these goals by 
     forging in this country a greater sense of union, then and 
     only then can we take full satisfaction in the State of the 
     Union.

  That opportunity and obligation to prove we can work together, and to 
do everything we can to end poverty in America, remains with us in 
2014. And right now, we are failing that solemn obligation to the 
American people.
  For decades, slowly but surely our efforts in fighting poverty have 
been making a difference. If you include the social safety net that 
President Johnson and later generations helped to construct, the 
poverty rate fell from 26 percent in 1967 to 16 percent in 2012.
  This was achieved because, in the past, we have always worked to 
ensure that a rising tide lifts all boats, that the gains of prosperity 
are felt broadly, and that in tough times, Americans who fall behind 
have a chance to get back on their feet.
  But recently, we have seen this House majority choose to break this 
long-standing compact, to turn their backs on the most vulnerable 
Americans. Consider what they are trying to do to food stamps, our most 
important anti-hunger program. Food stamps help to feed over 47 million 
Americans, nearly half of whom are children. For decades, Republicans 
and Democrats have worked together to pass a farm bill that does right 
by struggling Americans, even while working to support our farmers.

  But even though 99 percent of food stamp recipients live below the 
poverty line, this majority severed food stamps from the farm bill. 
They tried to cut food stamps by $40 billion, meaning 4 million 
Americans would be denied food.
  Even the final conference bill will reportedly cut roughly $8.5 
billion from the program and deny critical food aid to over 800,000 
households. Cutting this aid means kids can no longer concentrate in 
school because they are quite literally starving. It means seniors 
getting sick and going to the hospital because they can no longer 
afford proper nourishment.
  To take another example, look at what is happening with unemployment

[[Page H51]]

insurance. In the past, as far back as the Eisenhower administration, 
Congress has worked to extend unemployment benefits when the jobless 
rate was in the 5-7 percent range.
  But last month, even though unemployment remains above 7 percent, 
this House majority refused to work to extend these important benefits. 
The benefits have expired. What that means is that 1.3 million American 
men and women have already lost their unemployment insurance, including 
26,000 in my State of Connecticut.
  Many are people who had jobs. They lost them through no fault of 
their own, and who in this difficult economy, and even despite 
education, training, and job experience, still cannot find a job. Even 
as the stock market is at record levels, we are telling these Americans 
you are on your own. We are pulling up the ladder on them and closing 
the hatch. It is wrong. It is not what America is about. Slashing these 
programs will hurt and derail our economic recovery.
  Our top priority in this Congress should be to do everything that we 
can to create jobs, help workers, help families get back on their feet. 
That is the moral responsibility of good government.
  In the words of Pope Francis, we should all be ``working to eliminate 
the structural causes of poverty, to promote the integral development 
of the poor. This means education, access to health care, and above all 
employment.'' That is the great and the still unfinished cause that 
Lyndon Johnson dedicated us to 50 years ago.
  This Nation is watching. It is time for all of us to step up, work 
together and do the right thing.
  Again, I thank the gentlelady for your focus on this critical issue.
  Ms. LEE of California. I thank you so much for not only talking the 
talk, but walking the walk each and every day.
  I yield now to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Delaney) and thank 
you so much for your tremendous leadership.
  Mr. DELANEY. I thank the gentlelady for yielding me this time this 
afternoon and for her leadership on this issue.
  Mr. Speaker, as we all know, today marks that historic day, the 50-
year anniversary of President Johnson declaring a formal war on 
poverty. And on such a day, we must take note of the progress we have 
made and remind ourselves of the work that has to be done. Across 50 
years, if you take into account the effects of programs this government 
has put in place to target those on poverty, we have significantly 
reduced the rate of poverty. We have in particular reduced the rate of 
poverty for our seniors. These facts are first evidence of the notion 
that the government can make a difference against this problem.
  But we also know that more has to be done. Fifty million Americans 
live in poverty, including about a quarter of which are our children, 
our most vulnerable citizens, children who have their whole lives in 
front of them and are struggling in poverty. We must make a difference 
against this, and to do that we must do three things.
  First, we need to continue to fund the programs that are proven to 
make a difference in the lives of those living in poverty like food 
stamps, like funding Head Start.
  Second, we need to raise the minimum wage in this country. Right now 
in 2014, in the wealthiest country in the world, in many States if you 
work 40 hours a week and earn the minimum wage, you live below the 
poverty line. That just doesn't pass the look-yourself-in-the-mirror 
test. The minimum wage for decades has significantly trailed the growth 
in our economy. We need to raise the minimum wage. That will make a 
meaningful and impactful difference in the lives of those struggling in 
poverty.
  And, finally, we need to create jobs. Jobs are the most direct way to 
lift people out of poverty; and through a job, people have personal 
dignity. To make a difference in the jobs crisis in this country, we 
need to invest in education across the long term. That will make a 
disproportionate difference in terms of the number of people living in 
poverty. But in the short term, we need to do things to get people to 
work now, like investing in our infrastructure. This is very important 
work for us to do, Mr. Speaker.
  I will close by reflecting on some of the words of President Johnson. 
He said this fight would not be short and easy, and he was right. We 
have been at this for 50 years.
  He also said no single weapon would suffice, and he was right about 
that as well. We need to be raising the minimum wage. We need to be 
investing in jobs. We need to be funding critical programs like food 
stamps and Head Start.
  And then he said that we must not rest until this war is done. And to 
honor the tens of millions of people who have lived unfortunately in 
poverty over the last 50 years and the tremendous number of people who 
have fought this battle, and to live up to the standard of our maker, 
we must recommit ourselves to this battle.
  Ms. LEE of California. Thank you very much.
  Let me now yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee), my good 
friend who constantly throughout his life has been waging this war on 
poverty. Thank you for being with us.

                              {time}  1700

  Mr. KILDEE. I thank the gentlelady from California (Ms. Lee) for her 
leadership and her stewardship of this important obligation that we are 
here to commemorate.
  Mr. Speaker, it was 50 years ago today that President Johnson stood 
at that podium right in front of us. I can still conjure the images of 
that speech. Of course, these are images of black and white recordings 
of President Johnson standing there. It reminds me of the special 
obligation that we are called to and that he articulated so well half a 
century ago. I was 5 years old when he gave that speech. But like many 
I know here, I was sort of a precocious kid, and I was really, really 
interested in our government and in politics, and I followed it from a 
very young age--even that tender age of 5.
  I remember as a kid in the 1960s and early 1970s going through school 
thinking that the great struggles--the civil rights struggle, the 
women's rights movement, this war on poverty--were the big fights of 
our generation. In some ways, I almost felt at that point in time a 
moment had passed me by never imagining that when the time came so many 
years later and I would have an opportunity to serve in Congress that 
we are actually still fighting those same fights, that we are still 
engaged in that same struggle.
  Fifty years later, after President Johnson's speech, in the 
wealthiest society ever imagined, we are still fighting this war on 
poverty. In fact, we are seeing recently growing disparity, growing 
inequality in our society. We have not eradicated poverty. In fact, we 
haven't yet gotten to the point where we can say we are close.
  We do continue that battle. The battle over unemployment insurance, 
for example, is a part of that same fight. Some in this body would 
choose to continue their crusade to cut that important program. We have 
to remind ourselves that just since 2008, 11 million Americans have 
been saved from poverty because they were able to have that 
unemployment insurance available to keep them whole until they could 
find new meaningful, rewarding work.
  So instead of cutting these important programs--Head Start, our 
nutrition programs, the programs that actually change the trajectory of 
the lives of those who are struggling to find their way in our 
society--we ought to be doubling those investments, we ought to be 
making sure that no American ever has to wonder if they will fall below 
that common floor of decency that we all would agree should be part of 
any civilized society.
  We should have a minimum wage in this country that guarantees that 
people who work full time don't live in poverty. Fifty years later, we 
have got a lot of work to do.
  I heard the other day--I will close by saying this--I heard the other 
day a Member of the other body make a comment that perhaps we ought to 
simply acknowledge that in this Nation we have lost the war on poverty, 
when 50 years ago a quarter of our society was living in poverty and 
today that number is 16 percent. While we know we have a long way to 
go, we know that these programs actually do work. We have to ask 
ourselves what kind of country, what kind of society do we

[[Page H52]]

want to be? I think if we answer the question right we will live up to 
the challenge that President Johnson laid down 50 years ago.
  Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, how much time do we have 
remaining?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from California has 17 
minutes remaining.
  Ms. LEE of California. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
  We have many Members who still would like to speak, which really 
let's us know the importance of this issue.
  I yield to Congresswoman Grace Meng from New York, a freshman from 
New York who has hit the ground running, is representing her 
constituents in a bold and brilliant way. Thank you for being with us.
  Ms. MENG. Thank you. I again also want to thank the gentlelady from 
California for her tremendous efforts in speaking up and advocating for 
so many people who are voiceless.
  Mr. Speaker, I come before you today to commemorate the 50th 
anniversary of the war on poverty. Our Nation has had many successes 
over the last 50 years. Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP, and Pell Grants are 
incredible programs that help our entire country. However, even with 
these successful programs which deserve our recognition, this is not a 
time for celebration.
  After five decades, many would think that our congressional leaders 
were still committed to fighting poverty and reducing the gap between 
the haves and have-nots. I would still think that we are committed to 
helping hardworking Americans who have fallen on rough times through no 
fault of their own.
  The war on poverty is far from over. Instead of pressing the issue, 
we are retreating from it. 1.3 million Americans just lost their 
unemployment insurance and are suffering from long-term joblessness. If 
we don't renew the program, 383,000 New Yorkers will lose access to 
benefits over the next 12 months. We would also be responsible for 
preventing an increase of GDP by 0.2 percent and the blocking of 
200,000 jobs.
  For me, and I know for many in this Chamber, inflicting avoidable 
pain on this country is unacceptable. With no political gimmicks, we 
must vote to renew unemployment insurance now.
  Ms. LEE of California. Thank you very much.
  Let me yield now to Congressman Pete DeFazio from Oregon, who has 
some stories he would like to tell about his constituents and what they 
are going through.
  Mr. DeFAZIO. I thank the gentlelady.
  Mr. Speaker, on the 50th anniversary, the Republicans just got it a 
little bit wrong. The war on poverty, they thought it was the war for 
poverty as they are dismantling one by one the most important programs 
that help lift and keep people out of poverty, like extended 
unemployment insurance.
  Let me read a few subjects here.
  Roseburg, Oregon. A 61-year-old woman working since she was 14:

       I don't know if it is my age, but I am having great 
     difficulty finding a job.

  A 62-year-old woman from Coos Bay, Oregon, went back to her former 
employer and said: ``Are you hiring?'' He said: ``You can't be serious. 
Not at this time of year. Come back in the spring.'' Unfortunately, she 
can't make it until spring.
  A Eugene veteran. A two-income family, but she lost her job:

       Since I haven't been able to find a job, we are close to 
     losing our house and declaring bankruptcy. I am actively 
     seeking employment every day.

  Then we go to Springfield, Oregon, my hometown. We have a woman whose 
son is in the Army. She says:

       I can't find a job. I have been looking. I have to give 
     notice to my landlord and become homeless.

  Then Corvallis, Oregon. A 54-year-old man. He had been working his 
whole life since 17. In his last job, he was there for 13 years, but he 
can't find a job and he is going to be forced into homelessness.
  Then, finally, another gentleman from Springfield, Oregon:

       $330 a week I received wasn't much, but it helped keep me 
     from having to go to food banks and asking for help. We went 
     just before Christmas. The food bank had run out of food. I 
     have to decide now whether to buy medicine or food or heat my 
     house.

  That is the legacy of the cruel cuts of these Republicans. These are 
people, hardworking Americans who lost their jobs through no fault of 
their own and they want to work. If they fall into poverty, they lose 
their home, they lose their cell service, their telephone, their car. 
How are they ever going to get a job? We need to help them now before 
they fall even more off the cliff. Extend unemployment benefits today 
as a celebration that we, as the American people, do not tolerate 
poverty in this country.
  Ms. LEE of California. Thank you for that very powerful statement and 
for sharing those stories. All of us have stories very similar, but 
thank you for your constituents' testimonies.
  I yield to Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur from Ohio. I am privileged to 
serve with Congresswoman Kaptur on the Appropriations Committee, who 
constantly speaks for the voiceless. Thank you for being here.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Congresswoman Lee of Oakland, thank you so much for 
raising the consciousness of a Nation again.
  I rise to join my colleagues tonight in support of raising 
consciousness about how important the programs have been over the years 
to reduce poverty in our country since the half-century-old effort of 
the war on poverty started by Lyndon Johnson, a Democrat, who wanted to 
replace despair with opportunity.
  Mr. Speaker, at this time, I would like to place into the Record an 
executive summary of the Council of Economic Advisors, dated January 
2014, that summarizes the great progress that has been made: poverty in 
our country declining by more than a third since 1967 because of 
important programs that Democrats created--Social Security, Medicare, 
the earned income tax credit, and unemployment compensation, which is 
being tested as we speak here today. The speaker from Ohio, where 
unemployment has just gone up, should bring up that bill to extend 
unemployment benefits that impacts millions of Americans across our 
country.
  People who understand the value of work, they don't want any subsidy, 
they want a job--they want a job. The most important work we can do is 
to create jobs, but when they can't get a job, then to give them their 
earned benefits.
  What is great about this evening is I was thinking back to the 
1960s--I was pretty young back then--but there was a book written by 
Michael Harrington, ``The Other America.'' For whatever reason--maybe 
it was because President Kennedy was President--that book became almost 
like a small Bible. People read it and it raised their consciousness. I 
can remember President Kennedy campaigning in the mines in West 
Virginia and raising consciousness again about the conditions of miners 
and what they were enduring.
  It is very important that we have that same kind of effort across our 
country to raise consciousness about how important these programs are 
for our children, for our seniors, for those who are out of work. By 
working together we, as a people, really do make a difference.
  Congresswoman Lee, I want to thank you tonight for being part of that 
clarion call to raise consciousness of people who really care. The 
majority of Americans really do. As they are listening to Wall Street 
announce bigger and bigger and bigger bonuses, they know that there is 
a war on the middle class right now. So many Americans are falling out 
of that middle class. They know something is wrong. They want us to 
champion jobs here in Washington, D.C., and they want to make sure that 
that safety net is there for them if they hit the skids.
  I just thank you so very much for doing this. I thank all of my 
colleagues who took the time tonight to be here and to issue a clarion 
call for consciousness for jobs in this country, for extending 
unemployment benefits, for maintaining Social Security, for maintaining 
the earned income tax credit, and making sure that our vigilant efforts 
continue to eliminate poverty in this country.

           [From The Council of Economic Advisers, Jan. 2014]

          The War on Poverty 50 Years Later: A Progress Report


                           Executive Summary

       ``Unfortunately, many Americans live on the outskirts of 
     hope--some because of their

[[Page H53]]

     poverty, and some because of their color, and all too many 
     because of both. Our task is to help replace their despair 
     with opportunity. This administration today, here and now, 
     declares unconditional war on poverty in America. I urge this 
     Congress and all Americans to join with me in that effort.''
           --President Lyndon B. Johnson, January 8, 1964

       Fifty years ago, in January of 1964, President Lyndon B. 
     Johnson declared a ``War on Poverty'' and introduced 
     initiatives designed to improve the education, health, 
     skills, jobs, and access to economic resources of those 
     struggling to make ends meet. While there is more work to do, 
     in the ensuing decades we have strengthened and reformed many 
     of these programs and had significant success in reducing 
     poverty. In this report, the Council of Economic Advisers 
     presents evidence of the progress made possible by decades of 
     bipartisan efforts to fight poverty by expanding economic 
     opportunity and rewarding hard work. We also document some of 
     the key steps the Obama Administration has taken to further 
     increase opportunity and economic security by improving key 
     programs while ensuring greater efficiency and integrity. 
     These steps prevented millions of hardworking Americans from 
     slipping into poverty during the worst economic crisis since 
     the Great Depression.
     Poverty has declined by more than one-third since 1967.
       The percent of the population in poverty when measured to 
     include tax credits and other benefits has declined from 25.8 
     percent in 1967 to 16.0 percent in 2012.
       These figures use new historical estimates of the Census 
     Bureau's Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) anchored to 
     today's poverty thresholds. The SPM is widely acknowledged to 
     measure poverty more accurately than the official poverty 
     measure, which excludes the value of refundable tax credits 
     and benefits like nutrition assistance and has other 
     limitations.
       By anchoring the measure to today's poverty standards we 
     are able to ask how many people in each year since 1967 would 
     have had inflation-adjusted family resources below the 2012 
     SPM poverty thresholds.
     Despite real progress in the War on Poverty, there is more 
         work to do.
       In 2012, there were 49.7 million Americans grappling with 
     the economic and social hardships of living below the poverty 
     line, including 13.4 million children.
       While the United States is often seen as the land of 
     economic opportunity, only about half of low-income Americans 
     make it out of the lowest income distribution quintile over a 
     20-year period. About 40 percent of the differences in 
     parents' income are reflected in children's income as they 
     become adults, pointing to strong lingering effects from 
     growing up in poverty.
     This significant decline in poverty is largely due to 
         programs that have historically enjoyed bipartisan 
         support and increase economic security and opportunity.
       A measure of ``market poverty,'' that reflects what the 
     poverty rate would be without any tax credits or other 
     benefits, rose from 27.0 percent to 28.7 percent between 1967 
     and 2012. Countervailing forces of increasing levels of 
     education on the one hand, and inequality, wage stagnation, 
     and a declining minimum wage on the other resulted in 
     ``market poverty'' increasing slightly over this period. 
     However, poverty measured taking antipoverty and social 
     insurance programs into account fell by more than a third, 
     highlighting the essential role that these programs have 
     played in fighting poverty.
       Programs designed to increase economic security and 
     opportunity lifted over 45 million people from poverty in 
     2012, and led to an average of 27 million people lifted out 
     of poverty per year for 45 years between 1968 and 2012. 
     Cumulatively these efforts prevented 1.2 billion ``person 
     years'' of poverty over this period.
       Social Security has played a crucial role in lowering 
     poverty among the elderly. Poverty among those aged 65 and 
     older was 35 percent in 1960. Following rapid expansions in 
     Social Security in the 1960s and 1970s, poverty among the 
     elderly fell to 14.8 percent in 2012.
       These programs are especially important in mitigating 
     poverty during recessions. Despite an increase in ``market 
     poverty'' of 4.5 percentage points between 2007 and 2010, the 
     poverty rate, appropriately measured, rose only 0.5 
     percentage points due to both existing programs and immediate 
     actions taken by President Obama when he took office in 
     response to the worst financial crisis since the Great 
     Depression.
       ``Deep poverty''--defined as the fraction of individuals 
     living below 50 percent of the poverty line has declined as a 
     result of these programs. Without government tax credits or 
     other benefits, 19.2 percent of the U.S. population would 
     have been in deep poverty in 2012, but only 5.3 percent were 
     in deep poverty when these benefits are included.
     Programs that strengthen economic security and increase 
         opportunity continue to be essential in keeping millions 
         of Americans out of poverty and helping them work their 
         way into the middle class.
       Social Security benefits reduced the 2012 poverty rate by 
     8.5 percentage points among all individuals, and by 39.9 
     percentage points among those aged 65 or older.
       Tax credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and 
     Child Tax Credit (CTC) reduced the 2012 poverty rate by 3.0 
     percentage points among all individuals, and by 6.7 
     percentage points among children.
       The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)--
     formerly known as the Food Stamp Program--reduced poverty in 
     2012 by 1.6 percentage points among all individuals, and by 
     3.0 percentage points among children.
       Unemployment Insurance (UI) reduced poverty by 0.8 
     percentage points in 2012.
     Antipoverty programs have been increasingly oriented around 
         rewarding and encouraging work and are an important 
         source of opportunity for low-income working families.
       Both the EITC and the partially refundable component of the 
     CTC increase the reward to work, offsetting payroll taxes and 
     providing a supplement to labor market earnings. Research has 
     shown this increases work and earnings, and increases 
     participation in the workforce, particularly for single 
     parents.
       Some traditional antipoverty programs have been redesigned 
     to encourage and promote work. The vast majority of Americans 
     receiving nutrition assistance have a job or are either too 
     young to work, are over age 65 or are disabled. Meanwhile, 
     bipartisan welfare reform signed by President Clinton in 1996 
     strengthened work requirements and put a greater emphasis on 
     employment.
       Despite concerns that antipoverty programs may discourage 
     employment, the best research suggests that work disincentive 
     effects are small or nonexistent for most programs.
     Programs that help fight poverty and provide economic 
         security touch a wide swath of Americans at some point in 
         their lives.
       Programs that fight poverty help a broad range of Americans 
     get back on their feet after economic misfortune. For 
     example, about half of taxpayers with children used the EITC 
     at some point between 1979 and 2006, and over two-thirds of 
     Americans aged 14 to 22 in 1979 received income from SNAP, 
     AFDC/TANF, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or UI at some 
     point between 1978 and 2010.
       Social Security Old Age and Survivors' Insurance, Social 
     Security Disability Insurance, and UI are available to all 
     Americans with a steady work history. These social insurance 
     programs play an important role in keeping out of poverty 
     those who retire, experience a work-limiting disability, lose 
     a parent or spouse, or lose a job through no fault of their 
     own.
     The economic and social benefits from these programs go 
         beyond just helping reduce poverty in the current 
         generation.
       Increased access to SNAP for children has been found to 
     lead to better health and greater economic self-sufficiency 
     in adulthood.
       Increased family income in childhood from the EITC and CTC 
     leads to higher student achievement.
       The long-term effects of Head Start and other high-quality 
     preschool programs include higher educational attainment, 
     employment, and earnings, and lower rates of teen pregnancy 
     and crime, as beneficiary children become teenagers and young 
     adults.
     President Obama's policies to restore economic security and 
         increase opportunity have helped reduce poverty.
       The Affordable Care Act ensures all Americans have access 
     to quality, affordable health insurance, by providing the 
     resources and flexibility states need to expand their 
     Medicaid programs to all people who are in or near poverty as 
     well as financial help so hardworking families can find a 
     health plan that fits their needs and their budgets.
       The President significantly expanded the refundability of 
     the Child Tax Credit, making it available to millions of 
     working parents who were previously ineligible. He also 
     expanded the EITC for larger families, who face 
     disproportionately high poverty rates, and for low-income 
     married couples. Together these expansions benefit 
     approximately 15 million families by an average of $800 per 
     year. The President is proposing to make these tax credit 
     improvements permanent and also to raise the minimum wage.
       The Administration has advanced investments in early 
     learning and development programs and reforms for coordinated 
     State early learning systems. President Obama has proposed 
     the expansion of voluntary home visiting programs for 
     pregnant women and families with young children; Early Head 
     Start-Child Care Partnerships to improve the quality of care 
     for infants and toddlers; and high-quality preschool for 
     every child.
       President Obama has advanced reforms of the nation's K-12 
     education system to support higher standards that will 
     prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace; 
     pushed efforts to recruit, prepare, develop, and advance 
     effective teachers and principals; and encouraged a national 
     effort to turn around our lowest-achieving schools. The 
     Administration has also put forward proposals to redesign the 
     Nation's high schools to better engage students and to 
     connect 99 percent of students to high-speed broadband and 
     digital learning tools within the next five years.
       President Obama has proposed Promise Zones where businesses 
     partner with local communities hit hard by the recession to 
     put people back to work and communities can develop and 
     implement their own sustainable plans for a continuum of 
     family and community services and comprehensive education 
     reforms.
       President Obama has proposed increased employment and 
     training opportunities for adults who are low-income or long-
     term unemployed, and summer and year-round opportunities for 
     youth along with reforms to

[[Page H54]]

     our unemployment system to make it more of a re-employment 
     system, and community college initiatives to reform our 
     higher education system and support training partnerships 
     with business in high-demand industries.
       Other achievements include making college more affordable 
     by reforming student loan programs, raising the maximum Pell 
     Grant, and establishing the American Opportunity Tax Credit 
     which is the first partially refundable tax credit for 
     college; placing 372,000 low-income youth into summer and 
     year-round employment in 2009 and 2010; improving access to 
     school meal programs that help children learn and thrive; and 
     extending minimum wage and overtime protections to nearly all 
     home care workers to help make their jobs more financially 
     rewarding.
       The fundamental lesson of the past 50 years is that we have 
     made progress in the War on Poverty largely through 
     bipartisan efforts to strengthen economic security and 
     increase opportunity. As our economy moves forward, rather 
     than cut these programs and risk leaving hardworking 
     Americans behind, we need to build on the progress we have 
     made to strengthen and reform them. Going forward, we can't 
     lose sight of the positive part government can continue to 
     play in reducing economic hardship and ensuring access to 
     economic opportunity for all citizens. At the same time, 
     sustainable improvements are only possible if we create jobs 
     and speed the economic recovery in the short run, raise 
     economic growth in the long run, and work to ensure that the 
     benefits of a growing economy reach all Americans.

  Ms. LEE of California. Thank you for that very powerful statement, 
Congresswoman Kaptur.
  I yield now to our assistant leader, my good friend Congressman 
Clyburn from the great State of South Carolina, who constantly and 
consistently talks about prioritizing and targeting resources to area 
needs, to the poor and low-income communities. Thank you for being 
here.
  Mr. CLYBURN. I thank the gentlelady for yielding me the time.
  Mr. Speaker, when President Johnson stood in this Chamber 50 years 
ago and declared war on poverty, the richest country in the world had a 
poverty rate of 19 percent. President Johnson cautioned us on that 
evening that the war on poverty would be a long one and not an easy 
one. Yet, 9 years later, in 1973, the poverty rate in this country had 
dropped to 11 percent. We were most definitely winning the war on 
poverty.
  Unfortunately, after its initial success, many politicians found 
success running down the achievements the war on poverty had on many 
Americans. Politicians scapegoating so-calling ``welfare queens'' 
furthered a narrative that the war on poverty was not worth fighting. 
Yet, I can show you firsthand examples in my home State of South 
Carolina where the war on poverty did, in fact, succeed.
  For example, Medicare and Medicaid, both war on poverty initiatives, 
have made a tremendous difference in the health security of older 
Americans and those of modest means. In fact, at the time of the 
institution of Medicare, the poverty rate among seniors was over 30 
percent. Today, the poverty rate among seniors has dropped to beneath 
10 percent.

                              {time}  1715

  It is important to remember that, a year after President Johnson made 
that speech, we passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. That, to me, was 
to empower poor people, to empower people of color to go to the polls, 
to get registered and to vote to make their own statements as to how to 
fight the war on poverty.
  Today, we in the Congressional Black Caucus have been calling for our 
government to do across the board what we did in our so-called 
``stimulus bill,'' and that is to institute a 10-20-30 initiative to 
direct funds to targeted areas so that 10 percent of all of this money 
can go into those communities where 20 percent or more of the 
population have been locked beneath the poverty level for the last 30 
years. If we were to begin to target these persistent poverty counties, 
we would, in fact, eliminate poverty, and we would see all of our 
people who are living in poverty get beneath the 10 percent that we 
think will be tolerable over the next 10 years.
  Ms. LEE of California. Thank you so much for being here with us and 
for your leadership, Mr. Clyburn.
  Mr. Speaker, how much time do I have remaining?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman has 1 minute remaining.
  Ms. LEE of California. Let me yield now to the gentlelady from Texas, 
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. I want to thank the gentlelady from California for 
her leadership.
  Mr. Speaker, simply, we can begin to attack poverty in 2014 by 
extending the unemployment benefits for 1.3 million Americans.
  Thank you, President Johnson, as we honor the fight against the 
poverty that has encompassed so many Americans. The war on poverty is a 
war to be won. We thank you for VISTA, the Child Nutrition, the 
National School Lunch, the Food Stamp program, the Community Action 
Programs, the Indian Reservation Programs, and Legal Services.
  I served on the board of the Gulfcoast Legal Services, and we say to 
our colleagues: if you would look at the red that is on these sheets, 
you will know that poverty does not belong to any one Member. It 
belongs to all Members. All States have individuals who are living 
below the poverty line. It is time to continue the fight against 
poverty through unemployment insurance, through job training, through 
the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, through child care, and 
Head Start--a vital, vital, vital transition of opportunity for poor 
children. It is time to continue that fight.
  It is our pledge and our commitment, along with legislation that I 
intend to introduce, to give enhanced training to those who are 
chronically unemployed, to keep the dream of President Johnson's alive 
and to extinguish poverty as we know it in the United States of 
America.
  President Lyndon Johnson:

       ``. . . we have the power to strike away the barriers to 
     full participation in our society. Having the power, we have 
     the duty.''

  It has been 50 years since President Lyndon Johnson declared war on 
poverty, an initiative to endure the ideals and principles of President 
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, with hopes to rid our nation of the plague and 
disparity of poverty.
  Social programs established by the War on Poverty provide invaluable 
aid to the elderly, the seriously disabled, members of working 
households, and children and spouses of deceased workers.


                National Successes Of The War On Poverty

  Major initiatives include: The Social Security Act 1965; Food Stamp 
Act of 1964; The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964; Job Corps; 
Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA).
  Programs established during the era of President Johnson and those 
created since as result of his initiative have cut poverty nearly in 
half.
  In 2012, programs kept 45 million people, to include 9 million 
children, out of poverty according to the Census Bureau's Supplemental 
Policy Measure (SPM).
  If benefits were taken away, the poverty rate in America would be 29 
percent under the SPM, but with them, the rate is 16 percent.
  Cumulatively, programs developed during the War on Poverty have 
prevented 1.2 billion ``person years'' of poverty.
  One of the demographics most affected by poverty was the elderly. In 
1960, 35 percent of those ages 65 and older lived in poverty. With the 
implementation of Social Security, poverty among the elderly fell to 
14.8 percent in 2012.


  Programs Encourage Work And Create Rewarding Opportunities For Low-
                            Income Families

  The Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit have not only 
reduced the poverty rate by 3.0 percentage points among all individuals 
and 6.7 percentage points among children, they reward work by 
offsetting payroll taxes and providing a supplement to labor market 
earnings.
  Research shows these tax credits increases work and earnings, and 
increases participation in the workforce, especially for single 
parents.


           DESPITE TREMENDOUS SUCCESS, WE HAVE TO KEEP MOVING

  Though substantial progress has been made in the War on Poverty, in 
2012 nearly 50 million Americans, including 13.4 million children, 
remained below the poverty line.
  As result of these impoverished conditions, our American youth is 
subject to substandard housing, homelessness, inadequate food and 
nutrition, poor childcare, lack of access to health care, and dangerous 
neighborhoods.

[[Page H55]]

  Poorer teenagers and young children are at a significant risk for 
poor academic achievement, dropping out of school, behavioral problems 
and delays in development.
  The American Opportunity Tax Credit makes college more affordable by 
being the first partially refundable tax credit for college, placing 
372,000 low-income youth into summer and year-round employment in 2009 
and 2010.


    POVERTY STATISTICS IN TEXAS AND THE 18TH CONGRESSIONAL District

  Eighteen percent of households in the state of Texas from 2009 
through 2011 ranked second in the highest rate of food insecurity only 
the state of Mississippi exceed the ratio of households struggling with 
hunger.
  In the 18th Congressional District and estimated 151,741 families 
lived in poverty.


      INITIATIVES TAKEN To PREVENT POVERTY IN TEXAS AND THE 18th 
                         CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

  H.R. 3773, Unemployed Jobhunters Protection and Assistance Act of 
2013 will reinstate vital benefits for 64,294 Texans and maintain 
benefits for 4,112 Texans per week slated to lose them.
  Unemployment insurance payments provide partial income replacement to 
unemployed workers who meet the requirements of State law.
  The State of Texas requires that the unemployed insurance payments 
only go to persons who are unemployed at no fault of their own.
  Unemployment payments beyond 26 weeks in the state of Texas are made 
as a direct result of Federal funds sent to the states to extend 
unemployment insurance payments.
  To continue to receive unemployment benefits in the State of Texas an 
unemployed person must be actively looking for work and provide 
evidence of their continued job search by reporting where they: 
submitted an application; had a job interview; or submitted a resume.
  According to the White House Council of Economic Advisers and the 
Department of Labor, Texas will lose 11,766 jobs if unemployment 
insurance payments are not reinstated.


                               IN SUMMARY

  Throughout the 50-year history on the War on Poverty, great progress 
has been made largely due to bipartisan efforts to strengthen economic 
security and increase opportunity.
  At this crucial time in our history, it is important to maintain the 
vision established by President Johnson, to continue to combat poverty 
with our maximum effort. Cutting programs now will only undermine 50 
years of hard-work to better the lives of millions of Americans.


                WAR ON POVERTY LEGISLATION AND PROGRAMS

  VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America)--Provided an opportunity for 
individuals, 18 and over, to join the War on Poverty. Volunteers would 
work with migrant laborers, on Indian reservations in urban and rural 
community action programs, in slum areas, hospitals, schools and in 
institutions for the mentally ill and retarded.
  Child Nutrition Act of 1966--This was an anti-hunger program started 
by President Johnson as part of his ``War on Poverty''. It created the 
special milk and school breakfast programs.
  National School Lunch Act of 1968--This act extended the school lunch 
program to include children who participated in ``service 
institutions''.
  Food Stamp Act of 1964--Made the Food Stamp Program permanent, 
strengthened the agricultural economy, and provided improved levels of 
nutrition among low-income households
  Community Action Programs of 1965 (CAP)--Under these programs the 
government was to provide both financial and technical assistance for 
locally designed and operated programs. Funds could be used for trips 
for slum children, remedial reading, job counseling, day care services 
etc.
  Migrant Assistance--The act authorized $35 million for loans and 
grants in 1965 for development of programs to aid migrant workers in 
housing, sanitation, education, and day care of children.
  Indian Reservation Programs--Health, educational and job training 
programs are typical components of Indian projects. As a component of 
the Community Action Program, projects for Indians were established on 
31 reservations housing 60,000 for America's Indians during the year of 
1965.
  Legal Services (1965)--This program provided (1) legal representation 
for the poor, (2) research into the legal problems of poverty, (3) 
education of the disadvantaged about legal rights and responsibilities, 
and (4) advocacy of improvements in the law affecting the poor.
  Small Business Loans--Title IV authorized the Director to make 15-
year repayable loans to establa or strengthen small businesses and help 
them to employ the long-term unemployed.
  Rural Loans--The Office of Economic Opportunity Director was 
authorized to make 15-year loans of up to $2,500 to low-income rural 
families who could not get credit elsewhere.
  Economic Opportunity Act of 1964--Created the Jobs Corps and the 
Community Action Program

            Things You Should Know About Poverty in America

       The number of Americans living in poverty (less than 
     $22,314 for a family of four) stands at 46 million people or 
     15.1 percent of population.
       The actual number of poor Americans living in poverty 
     nearly increased 20 percent since the publication of The 
     Other America in 1962.
       Economic growth didn't trickle down: Since 1980, GDP has 
     doubled while poverty rates have remained essentially flat.
       Americans in deep poverty: 20.5 million Americans, or 6.7 
     percent of the population, have an income less than HALF of 
     the poverty line (less than $11,157 for a family of four). 
     This rate has doubled since 1976.
       Children Under Age 18 in poverty: 16.4 million, 22 percent 
     of all children, including 39 percent of African-American 
     children, 35 percent of Latino children, and 12 percent of 
     white children.
       People in Single female-headed families (with children) 
     have a poverty rate of 42 percent.
       Roughly one in three americans live at twice the poverty 
     level or less (less than $44,628 for a family of four): 
     That's more than 103 million people.
       Half the jobs in the country now pay less than $33,000 a 
     year, and a quarter pay less than the poverty line of $22,000 
     for a family of four; but public policies including the 
     Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit, Supplemental 
     Security Income, and Social Security, kept 40 million people 
     from falling into poverty in 2010.
       Poverty rate among the elderly was reduced by nearly half 
     between 1967 and 1975, and reached a historic low of 8.9 
     percent in 2009, due in large part to Social Security.

  Ms. LEE of California. Thank you.
  Mr. Speaker, I have Congresswoman Schakowsky and Congressmen Green 
and Bishop here, who would like to insert their statements into the 
Record. We had an overwhelming number of Members who attended, and they 
did not have the opportunity to speak tonight.


                             General Leave

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, all Members will have 5 
legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the subject of 
this Special Order.
  There was no objection.
  Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, on this day in 1964, President 
Johnson's called on our nation to launch an `unconditional war on 
poverty'. Exactly 50 years later, we can state with confidence two 
truths.
  The programs resulting from Johnson's War on Poverty have improved 
the lives of Americans of all ages in innumerable ways.
  True, the war on poverty has not been won.
  I submit that now is NOT the time to end our battle.
  Today, there are nearly 50 million Americans grappling with the 
economic and social hardships of living below the poverty line, 
including 13.4 million children.
  In my district in Southwest Georgia alone, more than one in four 
people and almost one of every two children fall below the poverty 
line.
  And yet without programs such as unemployment insurance, Rural Tax 
Credits, school lunch programs, affordable housing, Medicare, Medicaid, 
Job Corps, SNAP, TRIO, and others, where would we be?
  In Georgia alone:
  Over 29,000 children from low-income families would be without 
critical early stage developmental resources provided by Head Start and 
Early Head Start.
  Over 1.8 million low-income individuals and families would lose the 
ability to choose healthy food options through SNAP for themselves and 
their children.
  And so on.
  America's War on Poverty has gone beyond just helping reduce our 
poverty rate. It has educated, fed, housed, and trained millions of 
Americans, giving them hope and preparing them for a more successful 
tomorrow.
  By many estimates, the reduction in poverty has drastically improved 
the way of life for many Americans over the past 50 years.

[[Page H56]]

  Lastly, and most importantly, we must remember that the label `poor' 
means more than a cold numeric value attributed to one's earning 
potential. We must remember that America's poor have a face. That face 
exists today!
  They are the homeless, freezing in the cold, because their job does 
not pay enough to cover the rent or because they have no job. They are 
children who cannot concentrate at school because hunger fills their 
daytime thoughts. They are uninsured Americans who, before the passage 
of the Affordable Care Act, could not afford quality health insurance.
  They are hard working Americans just striving to make ends meet and, 
like the majority of us, gripped with the goal of creating a better 
life for themselves and loved ones.
  We cannot turn our back on them now.
  We must continue to fight the war on poverty--and we must win!
  We must rededicate ourselves to the values that Lyndon Johnson lifted 
up 50 years ago.
  Values that set a moral standard for America and for which we still 
must strive. Values that were given to us over 2,000 years ago by Jesus 
in the parable of the Sheep and the Goats found in the 25th Chapter of 
Matthew.
  For when I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty 
and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me 
in. I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked 
after me. And whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers 
and sisters of mine, you did for me.
  President Johnson took that to heart 50 years ago. And we today must 
do the same.

                          ____________________