[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 14117-14118]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                POVERTY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Lee) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, as cofounder of the Congressional 
Out of Poverty Caucus, I rise today to call for an immediate response 
to the ongoing crisis of poverty in our Nation.
  The census numbers released yesterday underscore the urgent need to 
act boldly and to create jobs in this country, to protect our safety 
net, and to target resources where they are needed--basically, to 
communities of color, low-income communities, those communities, rural 
areas, who were hit hardest by the economic downturn.
  It's really beyond shameful that over 45 million Americans, including 
over 16 million children, are living in poverty in the wealthiest 
nation in the world. The data also shows a wide racial disparity, with 
the poverty rates for whites standing at 9.8 percent, while the rates 
for African Americans and Hispanics remain unacceptably high at 27.6 
percent and 25.3 percent, respectively.
  In 2005, I founded the Congressional Out of Poverty Caucus because of 
the rising tide of poverty. Some of us saw this unfortunate day coming. 
That was beginning under the failed policies of the previous 
administration.
  Of course, we also know the terrible economic impact of the massive 
financial crisis that they left us on their way out of office. With the 
swift efforts of President Obama and congressional Democrats, we are 
finally beginning to dig ourselves out of the hole that was left by the 
Bush administration and slowly moving the poverty rate in the right 
direction.
  Mr. Speaker, we must do more and we can do more.
  One of the most critical responsibilities we have as a government is 
to promote and enact policies that keep our middle class strong and 
provide opportunities and a safety net for those striving and fighting 
to become middle class and to get into the ranks of the middle class, 
to enhance their quality of life. But far too many Americans are 
continuing to suffer joblessness and have dropped out of the middle 
class and into poverty because of this Republican do-nothing Congress.
  Republicans in Congress have continually blocked efforts to extend 
and expand vital safety net programs which safeguard millions of 
American families and children who face stark realities of 
unemployment, hunger, and homelessness. Further, their continued 
blocking of critical Federal support to our States and localities has 
caused widespread layoffs of dedicated public servants like teachers, 
police officers, and firefighters in communities all across the 
country.
  This attack on our country's public servants has had a particularly 
hard

[[Page 14118]]

impact on communities of color and on women across the country. I just 
have to tell you, African Americans and women have long found job 
opportunities in the public sector, in public employment. African 
Americans, in particular, often found work with the city or the State 
because of racial bias and barriers and obstacles in the private 
sector.
  Mr. Speaker, the American people know that you can't have it both 
ways. Government spending cannot kill jobs on one hand, when spent on 
hiring teachers and police officers, and create jobs on the other hand. 
And those services are desperately needed throughout our country. We 
need more police officers on the street.
  My colleagues on the other side of the aisle must begin to accept the 
reality of history. Federal investments in our Nation's infrastructure, 
in our schools, and in programs that help struggling families are 
critical to boosting our economy and spurring our economic recovery.
  Tax cuts for millionaires don't pay for themselves; they create 
massive deficits and weaken our country.
  Markets don't regulate themselves. Deregulation allows rampant fraud 
and creates massive bubbles that inevitably burst and threaten our 
entire economy.
  We need a balanced approach that ensures that every American pays 
their fair share and is invested in a united and prosperous future for 
all Americans of every background. We need a balanced approach that 
ensures that millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share so that 
we can reignite the American Dream for all.
  How this Nation treats the least of these is not just a measure of 
our Nation's moral priorities, but it will directly impact whether the 
American Dream survives and thrives for all. Let us not forget that our 
greatest strength is the freedom and opportunity that our democracy 
created to allow us to work together to build the largest and most 
prosperous middle class the world has ever known.

                              {time}  1030

  But this means that we must reduce and we must eliminate poverty. And 
I hope in the few days that we're left that this Congress will come 
together and figure out a way to pass the President's American Jobs 
Act, because in that legislation we have critical investment to rehire 
our police officers, teachers and firefighters who desperately need 
their jobs, but also the services are desperately needed in our 
communities.

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