[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 83 (Monday, May 16, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E505]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT MODERNIZATION ACT OF 2022

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. GWEN MOORE

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 13, 2022

  Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of 
H.R. 5129, the bipartisan CSBG Modernization Act, and in support of my 
amendment to the bill.
  I appreciate the chairman for his support of my amendment and for 
bringing this bill to reauthorize the Community Services Block Grant 
(CSBG), which supports critical efforts to help those living in 
poverty, to the floor.
  The CSBG supports a comprehensive effort in our communities to help 
families find jobs, obtain housing and food, and achieve self-
sufficiency.
  CSBG funds are to be used for activities that have a ``meaningful and 
potentially significant impact'' on causes of poverty. The law broadly 
defines allowable activities including education, help finding 
employment, removing obstacles to self-sufficiency, and maintaining 
adequate House. But the actual use is determined by local communities 
through a needs assessment.
  This reauthorization reflects a renewed commitment to streamline and 
revitalize the program's stated purpose: to reduce poverty through 
support for Community Action Agencies that improve economic security of 
low-income individuals and families and create new opportunities in the 
communities where they live.
  There are sixteen CSBG funded Community Action Agencies in Wisconsin 
including the Social Development Commission in Milwaukee.
  One of the challenges low-income individuals and families in 
Wisconsin and elsewhere in our country face every day is food 
insecurity. In the richest country on this plan, too many low-income 
individuals and families find themselves struggling to feed themselves 
and their families each and every day.
  According to Feeding America (as of March 2021), an estimated 680,330 
Wisconsinites (11.7 percent or just over 1 in 8), including 1 in 5 
children, experienced food insecurity in 2020. That includes 147,000 
food insecure people in Milwaukee County alone.
  Feeding America Wisconsin likewise noted that its food banks saw an 
average sustained increase in demand for food assistance of 40-55 
percent in the first months of the pandemic. But I know I don't need to 
remind anyone that food insecurity has long been a problem in our 
country.
  This problem is only worsening as food prices rise while at the same 
time, federal supports that have helped these families keep food on the 
table, such as the American Rescue Plan's child tax credit improvements 
and the USDA's school meal waivers, are coming to an end.
  Vulnerable communities most at risk for food insecurity include 
seniors and the disabled living on fixed incomes, people of color, 
families with children.
  My amendment would strengthen efforts to address nutrition and food 
insecurity through the Community Service Block Grant. As noted by 
WISCAP, ``food insecurity is foremost not a condition, but a symptom--a 
particularly painful and persistent symptom--of our local, state, and 
national failure to fundamentally confront and eliminate economic 
inequality. Food insecurity stands at the crossroads of a host of 
causal factors--social, corporate, economic, cultural, personal, 
educational, and governmental--with which it is deeply intertwined. 
When households lack sufficient income to meet their basic needs--
whether housing, utilities, health care, education, childcare, and 
transportation--families will first prioritize inflexible bills--like 
rent, electricity, heat, gas that cannot be negotiated--thus reducing 
amount of money in the household budget to buy food. Thus, economic 
insecurity `translates into' food insecurity.''
  As we modernize and improve the CSBG for the 21st Century, we must 
make sure that we do not forget the need to help families put and keep 
food on the table.
  I urge my colleagues to support my amendment and the underlying bill.

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