[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 53 (Thursday, March 24, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1776-S1777]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HEINRICH (for himself and Ms. Collins):
  S. 3918. 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 or other primary caregiver--
two-generations together--in order to help break the cycle of 
intergenerational poverty.
  Far too many American families are living below the poverty line, and 
the prolonged public health and economic crisis has exacerbated this 
problem. In 2020, when COVID-19 shut down our communities and economy, 
we unfortunately saw the first increase in poverty after 5 consecutive 
years of decline. Nearly 38 million people, or about 1 in 10 Americans, 
lived below the poverty line in 2020. Sadly, this includes nearly 11 
million children, 35,000 of whom live in Maine. Despite recent 
progress, Maine's child poverty rate is still higher than all of the 
other New England States except Rhode Island.
  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. As Tomas 
Philipson, an economist who served previously as the Acting Chairman of 
the Council of Economic Advisers, recently wrote in the Wall Street 
Journal, ``you don't cut poverty by increasing reliance on government. 
You do it by making them self-reliant.''
  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 aimed at 
equipping both parents and their children with the tools they need to 
have opportunities to succeed and become self-sufficient. Oftentimes, 
Federal programs intended to help low-income individuals address 
challenges in silos, over looking the fact that the needs of family 
members are usually interconnected. Our bill seeks to change that. For 
example, helping a mother secure safe, high-quality childcare 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 connect with 
skills training that could lead to a better paying job. Connecting 
various Federal programs that target both parents and children with 
supports aimed at increasing economic security, educational success, 
social capital, and health and well-being has the potential to lift 
whole families out of poverty.
  Listen to the story of Kaytlyn Robbins, a mother of four who recently 
relocated to Windham, ME, from Aroostook County, where a two-
generation, or whole family, approach to economic mobility helped her 
turn her life around. I had the privilege of meeting Kaytlyn in August 
2020 at a roundtable hosted by the Aroostook County Community Action 
Program, ACAP.
  When Kaytlyn first connected with ACAP, she was living in a homeless 
shelter, battling with substance use, and had just lost custody of her 
young daughter. With the assistance of ACAP's Whole Family Program, she 
worked with a career counselor to set new goals for herself and created 
a customized plan to refocus and transform her life.
  ACAP established a work experience for Kaytlyn at a local recovery 
center in Caribou, which later became a full-time job. She was able to 
secure safe housing and was reunited with her daughter, whom the team 
assisted with childcare placement. Kaytlyn is now thriving and told me 
she is ``healing as a family unit.'' She is married and has a new baby 
who just turned 1. Professionally, she is now a registered recovery 
coach and recently started up a nonprofit dedicated to substance use 
disorder recovery coaching, peer groups, and community education. 
Kaytlyn and her family are just one example of how the two-generation 
approach can truly transform a family and put them on a path towards 
economic independence. With legislation like the Two-Generation 
Economic Empowerment Act, I am confident we can recreate thousands of 
success stories like Kaytlyn's and expand upon successful programming 
like that offered by ACAP.
  Specifically, the bill we are introducing would codify an Interagency 
Council on Economic Mobility to better coordinate Federal efforts that 
are aimed at supporting vulnerable families and moving them out of 
poverty. The council would also make recommendations to Congress about 
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 Agencies--and in some cases different entities 
within a single Department--and to improve the dissemination of 
information and best practices. In fact, a recent nonpartisan 
Government Accountability Office, GAO, report that Senator Heinrich and 
I requested confirmed that more coordination at the Federal level would 
provide the critical assistance and flexibility States and localities 
need to develop and implement two-gen policies to improve family well-
being. This report from 2020 underscores why adoption of our 
legislation, particularly its emphasis on increasing the coordination 
of services, is critical to a robust two-gen approach.
  Our bill would also authorize a performance pilot program that would 
provide additional flexibility for States and local governments to 
improve the administration of poverty-reducing programs. To-Generation 
Performance Partnerships would be piloted in five States, which would 
be able to blend similarly purposed funds across multiple Federal 
programs. Two-generation approaches are often created ``from the bottom 
up,'' meaning local organizations and States are at the forefront of 
responding to local or regional needs. The Federal Government should be 
empowering States and local organizations with the flexibility to be 
creative problem solvers. 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.

[[Page S1777]]

  With the Two-Generation Economic Empowerment Act, 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, the current 
bureaucratic, siloed approach to aid should not stand in the way of 
helping families escape poverty. As Ascend at the Aspen Institute--a 
key partner on this legislation--recently observed, ``Today's economic 
and public health crisis demands the innovation, inclusiveness, 
collaboration, coordination, and flexibility that the 2Gen approach 
provides.''
  In addition to strong support from national organizations like Ascend 
at the Aspen Institute and National Community Action Partnership, the 
Maine Community Action Partnership and the Maine Head Start Directors' 
Association have endorsed this important legislation. I very much 
appreciate their support.
  I urge my colleagues to join in supporting this innovative approach 
to moving families out of poverty by giving them the tools they need to 
succeed.
                                 ______