[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 135 (Friday, September 19, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1490]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                INTRODUCTION OF THE 10-20-30 ACT OF 2014

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 18, 2014

  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to introduce the 10-20-30 Act of 
2014.
  It is no secret that there are major disagreements among the two 
political parties over the role that the federal government should play 
in fighting poverty and confronting many other national challenges. 
These disagreements, put simply, come down to a question of federal 
resources: I believe that we should target more resources to 
impoverished communities than the proposed Republican budgets allocate, 
and I believe we can do so efficiently and effectively.
  I was privileged to have the opportunity to work through some of 
these disagreements last year as a member of the Budget Conference 
Committee, and the deal that resulted, while not 100 percent of what 
either side wanted, was a reasonable compromise on federal spending 
through the end of the next fiscal year that I was proud to support.
  Now that we have determined how much the federal government will 
spend, we must determine how to spend it most effectively. It is on 
this latter question--how to allocate finite federal resources to get 
the most ``bang for the buck''--that I believe we may be able to find 
more common ground to make real strides in combating persistent poverty 
in America. The 10-20-30 Act is a bill that members of both parties 
should support.
  Mr. Speaker, there are currently 488 persistent poverty counties in 
America--so defined because 20 percent of the population has lived 
below the poverty line for the past 30 years or more. They are diverse, 
including Appalachian communities in states like Kentucky and West 
Virginia, Native American communities in states like Alaska and South 
Dakota, Latino communities in states like Arizona and Texas, African 
American communities in states like South Carolina, Mississippi, and 
Alabama. They are urban communities in the Northeast, and rural in 
America's heartland. 139 of these counties are represented in this 
august body by Democrats, 331 by Republicans, and 18 are split between 
the two parties. Combating persistent poverty should matter to all of 
us, regardless of party, geography, or race.
  In early 2009, when we were putting together the Recovery Act, I 
proposed language to require at least 10 percent of funds in the rural 
development account to be directed to projects in these persistent 
poverty counties. This requirement was enacted into law. In light of 
the definition of persistent poverty counties as having at least 20 
percent poverty rates over 30 years, this provision became known as the 
10-20-30 initiative.
  This provision bore dividends, as economic development projects 
proliferated in persistent poverty counties across the country. The 
Recovery Act funded a total of 4,655 projects in persistent poverty 
counties, totaling nearly $1.7 billion. I saw firsthand the positive 
effects of these projects in South Carolina. Projects were undertaken 
and jobs created that would have otherwise gone lacking. Among these 
investments was a $5.8 million grant and $2 million loan to construct 
51 miles of water lines in the Britton's Neck community in Marion 
County. In Lowndes County, Mississippi, $17.5 million was spent to 
install a water line, elevated tank, and two wastewater pump stations, 
providing potable water to Mississippians and creating badly needed 
construction jobs. The Wellborn Special Utility District in Brazos 
County, Texas, received a $538,000 loan to construct more than 9 miles 
of new water distribution lines and connect over 60 households to a new 
water source.
  The legislation I am introducing today would expand 10-20-30 to other 
federal agencies. In 2011, I joined with our former Republican 
colleague, then-Representative Jo Ann Emerson of Missouri, to introduce 
an amendment to the Continuing Resolution that would have continued 10-
20-30 for rural development and expanded it to 11 additional accounts 
throughout the federal government affecting economic development, 
education, job training, health, justice, the environment, and more. 
This bill would apply 10-20-30 to these accounts for the next 10 years.
  I want to make two things clear about the 10-20-30 Act. First: It 
would not--I repeat, would not--add one dime to the deficit. It would 
simply allocate resources from funds already authorized or 
appropriated. Second: it would be no remedy for an inadequate budget. 
If we cut spending on economic development programs as much as some 
advocate, allocating 10 percent of this reduced amount to persistent 
poverty counties would be wholly insufficient to addressing the great 
need in these areas.
  Over the past 30 years, the national economy has risen and fallen 
multiple times. During each economic downturn, while we have been 
rightly focused on getting economy as a whole back on track, we have 
not given adequate attention to these communities that are suffering 
from chronic distress and Depression-era levels of joblessness. As a 
result, they have suffered even in good economic times. The 10-20-30 
Act of 2014 would create a mechanism to address this deprivation in 
times of want and in times of plenty, in times of federal investment 
and in times of fiscal austerity.
  I published an article on 10-20-30 in the most recent issue of the 
Harvard Journal on Legislation. I discuss the history of our nation's 
efforts to address chronic poverty and more fully lay out the case for 
broadly implementing 10-20-30 in a bipartisan fashion. I look forward 
to working together to pass the 10-20-30 Act to lessen the scourge of 
persistent poverty in these distressed communities.

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