[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 1602]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1030
                      CRISIS OF POVERTY IN AMERICA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Lee) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, as a founder and cochair of the 
Congressional Out of Poverty Caucus, I rise again to sound the alarm 
about the crisis of poverty in America.
  While many of us are encouraged by the recent improvements in the 
unemployment rate, which fell to 8.3 percent, the rate of unemployment 
continues to be unacceptably high, especially for communities of color. 
For African Americans, the unemployment rate is 13.6 percent, and it's 
10.5 percent for Latinos. The rate of unemployment for our youth is 
even more alarming, with over 23 percent of 16-19 year olds looking for 
a job. Without a job, Madam Speaker, how can we expect our youth, the 
future of this country, to develop the skills and experience they need 
to succeed and live out their American Dream.
  Encouragingly, President Obama understands that we cannot speed up 
economic recovery without investments that create jobs. I was pleased 
to see in his 2013 budget proposal critical investments to create good 
jobs and job training programs for communities hardest hit by our 
struggling economy. By targeting economic assistance where it's most 
needed, the President's proposed budget goes a long way to level the 
playing field to give every American the opportunity to succeed.
  There's a lot that my Republican colleagues can learn from the 
President's budget, especially this: that fighting poverty and reducing 
the deficit can be achieved together. But let me be clear. This budget 
is not perfect. There are cuts in this budget that would undermine some 
of the progress our economy is making. Cuts to safety net programs like 
the Community Services Block Grant, Low Income Heating Assistance, and 
affordable housing programs will hit already struggling families 
especially hard.
  During these difficult times, we really do need to protect programs 
that are a lifeline for the most vulnerable. We need to increase 
funding for programs like SNAP and WIC which keep millions of American 
families out of poverty. But keeping people from suffering the worst 
effects of poverty is not enough to restore our economy. Even with the 
recent increases we have seen in job creation, long-term unemployment 
remains at record levels, with 5.5 million workers who have been out of 
work for 27 weeks or more. Until Republican leaders in the House can 
pass President Obama's American Jobs Act or put forth any kind of 
reasonable plan for job creation, we must ensure that the safety net is 
strong.
  So, Madam Speaker, again I call for an immediate up-or-down vote on 
Congressman Bobby Scott's and my bill, H.R. 589, which will give the 
millions of job seekers who continue to struggle to find a job just 14 
more weeks of vital unemployment benefits. This would allow them to 
have just a little more time to find a good job and to support their 
family while our fragile economy continues to recover.
  Also, Madam Speaker, this Congress has a lot of work to do. We are 
just a few days away from when unemployment benefits are set to expire 
for millions of Americans across the country. Low-income families were 
hardest hit during the recession, and they cannot afford another year 
of a Republican Congress that fails to focus on jobs, refuses to 
strengthen our middle class, and tries to end the Medicare guarantee 
for all of our seniors. It is incumbent upon this conference committee 
to ensure that the bridge is strong enough to deliver us all, even our 
most vulnerable, over these troubled waters.
  Madam Speaker, let's put our Nation before our party. Americans 
really cannot wait, and neither should this Congress.

                          ____________________