[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 2383-2384]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           INTRODUCTION OF THE POVERTY TRAP STUDY ACT OF 2003

  (Mr. PETRI asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, it is a shame and a scandal that many anti-
poverty programs actually keep people poor by making it too expensive 
for them to work their way out of poverty. Our many anti-poverty 
programs were individually designed without regard for each other and 
without regard for the fact that if several benefits phase out 
simultaneously a poor person who works hard may find himself or herself 
worse off than if he or she stayed home or had done the minimum 
necessary to maintain the maximum level of benefits. I call this the 
poverty trap.
  Able-bodied people will work their way out of poverty if they can 
clearly

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see the benefit. Accordingly, today I am introducing the Poverty Trap 
Study Act, to create a commission to examine the way benefit phase-outs 
and tax increases can sap the incentive of poor beneficiaries. It is a 
hard problem to tackle, but we must get started. This is an issue that 
liberals, conservatives, and moderates should all find of compelling 
importance, and I solicit my colleagues' support.

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