[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1158-S1159]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTION

      By Mr. HEINRICH (for himself and Ms. Collins):
  S. 3338. A bill to establish programs to improve family economic 
security by breaking the cycle of multigenerational poverty, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleague from 
New Mexico, Senator Heinrich, in introducing the Two-Generation 
Economic Empowerment Act. Our bipartisan bill would support an 
innovative approach to fighting poverty, one that focuses on addressing 
the needs of children and their parents--two-generations together--in 
order to help break the cycle of intergenerational poverty.
  Many current conversations about lifting families out of poverty 
highlight record low unemployment and the booming U.S. economy as proof 
that we are finally headed in the right direction. I see many 
encouraging signs, such as the U.S. poverty rate finally in 2018 
falling below the pre-recession level and Maine experiencing the 
largest decline in child poverty in the Nation from 2016 to 2017, but I 
also know far too many families still struggle financially. Over 38 
million people, or about one in eight Americans, lived below the 
poverty line in 2018. This sadly includes nearly 13 million children, 
including 35,000 children in Maine. Despite recent progress, Maine's 
child poverty rate is still higher than all the other New England 
states.
  In addition to recognizing the continued need to lift up families and 
provide a brighter future for our Nation's youth, the economic 
motivation for addressing intergenerational poverty points to one 
simple fact--we must do something different. It is estimated that child 
poverty costs the U.S. between $800 billion and $1.1 trillion a year. 
For a sense of scale, the high end estimate of $1.1 trillion annually 
is similar to the amount Congress appropriated in December to fund 
programs across the entire government.
  Our legislation marks an important first step toward reevaluating our 
approach to poverty-reducing programs and encouraging innovative, more 
effective uses of taxpayer dollars. We support an approach that is 
aimed at equipping both parents and their children with the tools they 
need to succeed and become self-sufficient. Oftentimes, Federal 
programs intended to help low-income individuals address certain issues 
in silos, overlooking the fact that the needs of family members are 
usually interconnected. Our bill aims to change that. For example, 
helping a mother secure safe, high-quality child care can have a 
positive impact on her ability to succeed in the workforce, as well as 
improving her child's ability to be ready for school. While that child 
receives care and an education, her mother can be connecting with 
skills training to help her improve her income. Connecting various 
Federal programs that target both parents and children with supports 
aimed at increasing economic security, educational success, social 
capital, and health and wellbeing has the potential to lift whole 
families out of poverty.
  Listen to the story of Ambrosia Ross, a mother of three from 
Washington County, Maine, who was part of the first cohort of 
participants at Family Futures Downeast, a two-generation program 
designed to improve economic outcomes for low-income families through 
post-secondary education for parents at the same time their children 
access high quality early childhood education. In a testimonial about 
her experience, Ambrosia says, ``Family Futures Downeast opened up a 
whole new world, not just for me but also for my children . . . . Both 
of my boys talk about going to ``Mama's school'' and assure me that 
they are going to go to college also! They watch me doing homework and 
ask to do theirs as well. It means so much to me to know that not only 
has FFD changed my life but also set my children on a brand new path.'' 
In addition to continuing to attend college full time, Ambrosia is 
putting her new skills and education into practice by serving as a WIC 
Breastfeeding Peer Support Counselor. Her sons are also both eager to 
continue learning and her young daughter is already a ``wanna-be 
reader.''
  Family Futures Downeast is just one example of the great strides we 
have made in bringing communities and service providers together to 
implement two-generation strategies. By blending federal dollars with 
the help of the State of Maine, Family Futures Downeast has reached 
nearly 230 individuals in Maine's most impoverished county with 
astounding results. In 2015 when the program was just getting started, 
I was proud to support Family Future Downeast's application to 
participate in a federal demonstration project aimed at combatting 
rural child poverty, which provided critical technical assistance and, 
with additional support from the John T. Gorman Foundation in Portland, 
helped the program get off the ground. The legislation we are 
introducing today would build on efforts like Family Futures Downeast 
that are increasing opportunities for families in need across the 
country by funding projects that work.
  Specifically, the Two-Generation Economic Empowerment Act would 
create an Interagency Council on Multigenerational Poverty and Economic 
Mobility to better coordinate federal efforts aimed at supporting 
vulnerable families and moving them out of poverty. The Council would 
also make recommendations to Congress on ways to improve coordination 
of anti-poverty programs and to identify best practices. While I 
applaud ongoing efforts across the federal government to implement two-
generation strategies, this Council is needed to tackle logistical 
challenges, such as lack of coordination and communication across 
federal agencies--and in some cases different departments within a 
single agency--and improve the dissemination of information and best 
practices.
  Our bill would also authorize a pilot program that would provide 
additional flexibility for states and local governments to improve the 
administration of programs using Two-Generation models. It would 
authorize five states to participate in Two-Generation Performance 
Partnerships, allowing states to achieve reductions in poverty by 
blending similarly purposed funds across multiple federal programs. 
Two-generation approaches are often created ``from the bottom up,'' 
meaning local organizations and states are at

[[Page S1159]]

the forefront of responding to local or regional needs. Therefore, our 
role as federal policymakers should be to give states and local 
organizations the flexibility they need to be creative in solving their 
unique challenges. For this reason, our legislation would reduce 
duplicative reporting and application requirements that may deter local 
agencies and organizations from making the most effective use of 
taxpayer dollars. To ensure accountability, the bill would require that 
these pilot programs be targeted at specific, poverty-reducing 
outcomes.
  While federal programs have helped many of those living in poverty 
manage day-to-day hardships, they are falling short of breaking the 
cycle of poverty that has trapped too many families. With this bill, we 
have the chance to make a permanent difference in the lives of families 
and to break the multigenerational cycle of poverty. Just as a child's 
ZIP code should not determine his or her future success, so should the 
bureaucratic siloed approach to poverty not make it so difficult for 
families to get the help they need to escape poverty. The federal 
government can be an effective partner in providing opportunities for 
parents and their children, lifting up families, and in turn, building 
stronger communities. State and local governments can be at the 
forefront of these efforts, and the increased flexibility proposed by 
this bill would help reform practices across government.
  In addition to strong support from national organizations like Ascend 
at the Aspen Institute, I want to thank the Maine Community Action 
Association and the Maine Head Start Directors Association for 
endorsing this important legislation. I also thank Senator Heinrich for 
his continued leadership and urge my colleagues to support this 
innovative approach to moving families out of poverty by giving them 
the tools they need to succeed.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Reed, Ms. Duckworth, 
        Mr. Jones, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Blumenthal, Mrs. 
        Murray, Mr. Tester, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Casey, Mr. Whitehouse, 
        Mr. Menendez, Mr. Warner, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Sanders, 
        Mr. Cardin, Mr. Udall, Mr. Bennet, Ms. Klobuchar, Mrs. Shaheen, 
        Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr. Kaine, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Carper, Mr. Van 
        Hollen, Mr. Booker, Mr. Brown, Ms. Hirono, and Mr. Coons):
  S. 3339. A bill to restore military priorities, and for other 
purposes; read the first time.

                                S. 3339

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Restoring Military 
     Priorities Act of 2020''.

     SEC. 2. RESTORATION OF REPROGRAMMED FUNDS.

       All amounts transferred under the Department of Defense 
     reprogramming action FY 20-01 RA, ``Support for DHS Counter-
     Drug Activity Reprogramming Action'', shall be restored to 
     the appropriation accounts and the programs, projects, and 
     activities for which such amounts were appropriated or 
     otherwise made available by the Department of Defense 
     Appropriations Act, 2020 (division A of Public Law 116-93).

     SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON GENERAL TRANSFER AUTHORITY.

       Section 8005 of the Department of Defense Appropriations 
     Act, 2020 (division A of Public Law 116-93; ) is amended by 
     striking ``$4,000,000,000'' and inserting ``$1,798,000,000''.

     SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON OVERSEAS CONTINGENCY OPERATIONS/GLOBAL 
                   WAR ON TERRORISM TRANSFER AUTHORITY.

       Section 9002 of the Department of Defense Appropriations 
     Act, 2020 (division A of Public Law 116-93; ) is amended by 
     striking ``$2,000,000,000'' and inserting ``$371,000,000''.

                          ____________________