[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 16 (Monday, January 29, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H257]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              NATIONAL POVERTY IN AMERICA AWARENESS MONTH

  (Ms. PLASKETT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, this month of January has been National 
Poverty in America Awareness Month. The grim reality is that over 40 
million Americans, including nearly 20 percent of individuals in my 
home of the Virgin Islands and 30 percent of children there, live in 
poverty. This issue is not an inevitability, but a crisis that we have 
the power to resolve.
  Poverty manifests not only through hunger, but also limited 
education, social discrimination, desperation, which leads to crime, 
and diminished democratic participation. Tragically, communities of 
color and people living in territories face even greater disadvantages.
  It is disheartening to see a lack of concerted effort and poverty 
alleviation in this House. Many of my Republican colleagues, fixated on 
political stunts and threatening critical funding cuts, have diverted 
attention from this pressing issue.
  We must prioritize bipartisan collaboration, whether it is the border 
or hunger in our own land, over political posturing. We must unite in 
our commitment to eradicate poverty, uplift every citizen, and 
guarantee a prosperous future for people across our land.

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