[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 14, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H191-H192]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1230
                             WAR ON POVERTY

  (Ms. TITUS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, 50 years ago, President Johnson declared an 
unconditional war on poverty in America and established landmark 
programs--such as Head Start, Medicare, and Job Corps--that were 
designed to give all Americans the opportunity to succeed.
  These programs have had a substantial impact, cutting poverty by one-
third since 1967. Despite the progress, however, we still have a lot to 
do.
  Today, 100 million Americans live in or near the brink of poverty, 
including 42 million women and 28 million children. In Nevada, nearly 
18 percent of women and 24 percent of children live in poverty, a 
situation made even

[[Page H192]]

worse by the gender wage gap and the lack of paid leave and affordable 
care. It is hard to lean in when you are barely hanging on.
  What is more, cuts to SNAP and unemployment insurance have placed 
even greater hardships on those already struggling to get by. Denying 
this vital lifeline is morally indefensible and economically 
shortsighted.
  To win the war on poverty, we must strengthen, not gut, the programs 
that protect and empower millions of people every day, giving everyone 
in this great country an opportunity to succeed.

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