[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 13410-13411]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       PASS THE AMERICAN JOBS ACT

  (Ms. LEE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, today, the Census Bureau came out with new 
numbers on poverty in America. In 2010, 15.1 percent, which is 46.1 
million Americans, lived in poverty. This is up from 14.3 percent, or 
43.6 million Americans, in 2009. And 2.6 million more Americans fell 
into the ranks of the poor. For 2.3 percent of Americans, their incomes 
fell. This trend really does carry long-term and short-term 
consequences for our children, our families, and for our national and 
economic security. These are not people in Democratic districts only. 
These are individuals who live in Republican districts and Republican 
Tea Party districts and independent districts. These are people who 
live all over the country.
  This summer, the Congressional Black Caucus and the Progressive 
Caucus went out and we listened to people. We helped find jobs for 
people. The stories that we heard were quite depressing but also 
reminded us of the job that we have to do. I want to just tell you one 
story of children who are now taking care of their parents because 
their parents lost a job. These children are working at minimum wage 
jobs, for instance, at McDonald's. This is a moral outrage. We've got 
to pass the American Jobs Act. Until we create jobs--and there are four 
individuals for one job--we need to pass H.R. 589, which would extend 
unemployment benefits for those who have hit the 99 wall.

[[Page 13411]]

That's the least we can do until we create these jobs.

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