[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 18473-18475]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      POVERTY IN THE UNITED STATES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 6, 2015, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Loretta Sanchez) 
is recognized for the remainder of the hour as the designee of the 
minority leader.
  Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the 
gentlewoman from New Jersey for talking about Ms. Gonzalez, who was 
from our area. She actually was from a city called El Monte, 
California, and that is where my first cousin, Norma Macias, is a 
councilwoman there at that city.

                              {time}  1930

  Right now, as we are speaking, they are holding a vigil for her, a 
memorial for her. She was a young lady on a semester abroad wanting to 
change the world by good design and using green products, et cetera. So 
thank you for mentioning her. I am sure the Gonzalez family will be 
very touched.
  And, of course, thank you for mentioning the whole issue of the 
refugees because we are a beacon. We are a shining beacon of the world. 
These are people who are fleeing these types of terrorist attacks.
  So I hope that we do have a good resolution to allow these refugees 
to go to all the countries until we figure out what is going on in the 
Middle East and they can return home. Home is where they really want to 
be. Thank you. I thank my great colleague from New Jersey.
  Mr. Speaker, tonight I rise to address an issue that unfortunately 
reaches into households in each and every State, every city, and every 
neighborhood in this great Nation. It is the issue of poverty.
  Poverty is a plague that weighs on a central tenet that our Nation 
was built on, and that is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
  I received a letter just this last month from our Democratic whip, 
Steny Hoyer, discussing a recent report released by the U.S. Census 
Bureau that found that 46.7 million Americans--15 percent of 
Americans--are living in poverty. How can we tell a family to pursue 
happiness when the rug is constantly being pulled out from under them?
  Mr. Speaker, 15 percent, 46.7 million, is more than all the 
Californians and Arizonans put together. We cannot allow that to 
continue. We know that the effects of poverty hit every aspect of one's 
life.
  It hits minorities disproportionately. Poverty affects minorities. 26 
percent of African Americans live below the poverty line, and 23 
percent of Latinos live below the poverty line.
  We also see those types of percentages when we look at lower 
educational attainment and lower overall wages. As the number of first- 
and second-generation children rises, so does the amount of these 
children affected and born into poverty.
  Nearly one in three children in the schools in my district are 
affected by poverty. It is hard to learn when you haven't had a meal. 
It is hard to learn when you don't have a roof over your head. It is 
hard where you are sharing a house with 15 or 16 people, most of them 
not related to you.
  There are social programs such as SNAP and the Community Supplemental 
Food program. There are ways in which we can combat the effects of 
poverty. I don't believe that families who are benefiting from those 
programs are looking for a free handout.
  There are Members of both Chambers who at one time or another 
received public assistance in times of need. One of them was a single 
mother of not one, but two, children while working and attending 
college. I think it goes without saying that these individuals are not 
lazy or looking for handouts.
  Now, we shouldn't shame or judge other individuals in our society, 
but there is a negative stigma about being enrolled in welfare 
programs. We shame families who don't have the means to lift themselves 
out of the cycle of poverty. But then we don't want to give them that 
helping hand, that aid, that they need in order to do that.
  Well, Mr. Speaker, I think the real shame--the real shame--is that we 
are a nation of unbridled wealth, bountiful wealth, and still over 46 
million people are in poverty.
  With the rising costs of housing and food, families in the United 
States are stretching each dollar more and more. Many find it difficult 
to save money at the end of the month, and saving for their son's or 
daughter's education is, quite frankly, an unattainable dream.
  When I was growing up, I was told that, if I worked hard, if I did 
well in school, and if I saved my money, it was possible to be 
successful in America.
  But, Mr. Speaker, every day these days it gets harder and harder to 
be successful in America. Those in poverty find themselves working 
hard, planning for the future, and doing everything that we tell them 
to do, and still they fall short, unable to attain the pursuit of 
happiness.
  There should be absolutely no reason, if a person puts in hard work 
40 hours a week, that they should be living in poverty. How can we 
expect families working minimum wage--and I will add that is not a 
liveable wage--to afford child care and save for their children's 
college education?
  Honestly, it is nearly impossible. Yet, I see so many examples in my 
district of people who overcome all of the hurdles and the barriers 
that we are placing in front of them.
  We can alleviate, we can remove, those barriers. We can have an 
impact on the poverty of our communities. Last month, during National 
Work and Family Month, Democratic leadership led a Working Families Day 
of Action to highlight important legislation to improve the living 
conditions for all families here in America.
  I joined 113 of my colleagues in cosponsoring a resolution which 
called for this House to address some of the issues important to some 
of the most disadvantaged demographics of people in our Nation. This 
resolution addressed commonsense measures, such as sensible working 
accommodations for pregnant women, equal protections for workers in the 
workplace, and increasing the minimum wage to a liveable wage.
  You see, Mr. Speaker, when we talk about the 46 million Americans 
living in poverty, we are talking about people from all walks of life. 
We are talking about the homeless. We are talking about children in our 
schools. We are talking about our senior citizens. We are talking about 
single parents, blue collar workers. We are talking about our 
immigrants.
  All of these groups are stuck--stuck--in a vicious cycle of poverty 
and disadvantaged situations. These aren't radical ideas. These are 
sensible, American ideas where hard work is rewarded with equal 
compensation and protections. I believe that, as lawmakers--but, more 
importantly, as Americans--we owe it to the families of this Nation to 
enact legislation in which each and every person has a means to 
succeed.
  Tonight I am going to go over some of the statistics that we have 
with respect to poverty in America. As I said before, Mr. Speaker, 46.7 
million people are living in poverty.
  The poverty rate was established in the 1960s, and it is based solely 
on an

[[Page 18474]]

individual's cash earnings. It sets the poverty threshold at $24,250 
for a family of four. However, that rate does not take into 
consideration the cost of living in different regions of America. Try 
living in my region on $24,250 for four people.
  The Census Bureau recently established a new measure on which to 
gauge actual poverty rates. The Supplemental Poverty Measure 
establishes a new poverty rate by incorporating expenditures on basic 
necessities, such as food, housing, and utilities.
  California's poverty rate is 16.5 percent, slightly higher than the 
14.9 percent rate for the United States. However, this statistic can be 
deceiving because of the high cost of living throughout the State.
  So you could be above the $24,250 a year for a family of four, and 
you are not in poverty according to the national rate. But the 
reality--the reality--is, when it costs $1,800 for a one-bedroom 
apartment, you have eaten up about 90 percent of that $25,000.
  If we use the updated measurement system, California leads the Nation 
with 23.4 percent of residents living in poverty. Of course, once 
again, this hits the disadvantaged more than anyone else.
  When using the Supplemental Poverty System, nearly 20 percent of 
seniors, one-quarter of our children, 31 percent of Latinos, and 20 
percent of African Americans live in poverty. Let's put that in 
perspective.
  The average rent in Orange County is $1,648. Orange County that I 
represent is the seventh priciest metropolitan area in the United 
States. This brings the total cost to rent a modest--and when I am 
telling you a modest apartment in California, we are talking $20,000 a 
year.
  For a family of four living at or below the outdated poverty 
threshold, this leaves a whopping $4,250 for the entire year. That 
leaves about $354 per month to feed and clothe a family of four.
  How, Mr. Speaker, can a family of four live on $354 a month? How do 
you save for a college education? How do you save for a home? How do 
you buy a car? What can you do when you get sick?
  I recently held a bipartisan briefing about home ownership as a 
vehicle for economic mobility for Latinos and African Americans. Latino 
families are struggling to rebuild the equity they lost in this last 
Great Recession because, between 2008 and 2010, in those 3 or 4 years 
of the recession, two-thirds of the wealth in the Latino families 
across the Nation was lost--was lost--just wiped out, done away with, 
because they lost their homes.
  The home is always the first rung onto the wealth-creation ladder. 
Two-thirds because of foreclosure. And even though home values have 
rebounded in recent years, the fact of the matter is that those people 
who lost their homes are renting at probably twice the cost of what 
their mortgage payment was, probably something less than what they were 
living in, and not building any equity.
  They are renters, and they are stuck. Even if you gained back on the 
market, it doesn't keep pace with the returns in the stock market. So 
the Hispanic household has a slower recovery than the rest of our 
Nation.
  According to the Pew Hispanic Center, 28 percent of Hispanic 
homeowners say they owe more on their homes today than they can sell it 
for in 2011.
  This topic of home ownership is more than a roof over your head. It 
is a source of pride. It is a source of pride. It is the American 
Dream, and it is a place that you can call your own. It is a part of 
owning America, and we want people to own a piece of America.
  A recent Joint Economic Committee study report finds that White 
households typically have 150 times more wealth than Hispanic 
households. In 2013, the median net worth of Hispanic households was 
only $14,000 compared to about $142,000 for Anglo households, a 
difference of $128,000.

                              {time}  1945

  And the wealth divide has increased since the Great Recession.
  The median net worth of Hispanic households fell by over 40 percent 
between 2005 to 2013, compared to 26 percent for Anglo households.
  Latinos are less likely to be financially prepared for retirement 
than any other households because of their disparity in employment, in 
earnings, and in wealth.
  Only 12 percent of Latino households have access to the defined 
benefit pensions, for example, that guarantee a lifetime income, half 
the rate of Anglos and African American households.
  Sixty-nine percent of working-age Latino households do not own assets 
in a retirement account--69 percent do not--compared to 37 percent of 
Anglos who do not.
  Let's talk about my district, in one of the wealthiest counties of 
our Nation. I just told you that housing is seventh in the Nation with 
respect to what it cost you to live there.
  Twenty percent of the people are living in poverty in my district, 
higher than the State and the national average.
  Thirty percent of the kids, the children, in my district are living 
in poverty, higher than the State and higher than the national average.
  Eighteen percent of women are living in poverty in my district, 
higher than the State and the national average.
  Between 2011 and 2013, in those 3 years, 23,000 households within my 
district benefited from SNAP assistance--food stamps. Eighty-six 
percent of those households had children under the age of 18. Oh, and 
by the way, 78 percent of those households were Latino. Forty-three 
percent of those families that received SNAP benefits recorded having 
at least two or more workers in the workforce in the past 12 months.
  What does this tell you? It tells you that families have not just one 
but two breadwinners in the family, and still they cannot afford to 
purchase basic food supplies.
  Mr. Speaker, if hunger doesn't affect us directly, we often overlook 
the immense stress that comes with struggling to put food on the table. 
If you don't have a meal, you are not good in school and you can't 
study because you are constantly hungry. How does a kid do his 
mathematics, his geometry, when he is wondering where is his next meal 
coming from?
  The Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as the limited 
or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods.
  In 2014, 48 million adult Americans lived in food-insecure 
households, including 32.8 million adults, and 15.3 million children. 
And of those 48 million Americans, 19 percent of the households were 
with children, 35 percent of the households with children headed by 
single women, 26 percent African American households, 22 percent Latino 
households. How do we do that?
  A recent report published by the Department of Agriculture found that 
error rates for awarding SNAP benefits are at an all-time low. Over 99 
percent of SNAP benefits are issued to eligible households.
  Mr. Speaker, you would think that a government program, any 
government program, with a 99 percent efficiency rating, with a proven 
record of lifting families out of poverty would be applauded and 
promoted by both sides of the aisle, but that is not always the case.
  The most recent farm bill cut $8 billion from SNAP, affecting 850,000 
families in our Nation.
  The assistance provided by SNAP is an economic booster, with every 
dollar in SNAP benefits resulting in $1.80 in total economic activity.
  Mr. Speaker, food is the most basic necessity for a person.
  In ending, I would like to highlight a few of the excellent 
organizations in my district that make it their mission, their passion, 
to aid those in need.
  The Lestonnac Free Clinic, founded by Sister Marie Therese in 1979, 
it is devoted to providing free--free--comprehensive medical care to 
the poorest of the poor in Orange County, California, as well as dental 
care to its established patients. This organization, this clinic, is a 
nonprofit, primarily volunteers--volunteer doctors, volunteer 
everything--working with pharmaceutical companies and local hospitals 
to meet the healthcare needs of

[[Page 18475]]

low- and no-income families in our community. And the clinic has stayed 
true to its mission of providing free medical and dental care, and is 
only one of the few clinics in Orange County that does not charge--does 
not charge--for its services.
  And collaborations were made with organizations, including Target 
store pharmacy, to provide low-cost medications. And over 100 volunteer 
doctors and medical staff have generously donated their time to help 
those in need.
  The Lestonnac Free Clinic also contains a food bank and provides food 
to several hundred people each month. Over 20,000 patients have been 
treated in over 180,000 visits.
  Or there is the Orange County Food Bank, which operates the Commodity 
Supplemental Food Program, and it distributes 23,000 food boxes monthly 
countywide to low-income seniors 60 and older. It operates a community 
donated food bank with enrollment of over 350 local charities that make 
food available to those that are at the risk of hunger. This vulnerable 
population includes the disabled, seniors, families with children, 
veterans--I see veterans in those lines coming to pick up boxes of 
food--the unemployed and the homeless.
  The foods department operates the SNAP program, and this program has 
increased enrollment to over 400,000 qualified individuals in Orange 
County, California, who are at the risk of hunger.
  Mr. Speaker, we are a great country, and we have great Americans--
those who have served in our military, those who have served in public 
service, those who teach our children, those who nurse us when we are 
sick, those who build our roads, invent new gadgets for us to 
communicate. We are a great country of innovation. We are a great 
country of beauty from sea to shining sea. And yet, in this great 
country of ours, in today's day, there are over 46 million Americans 
living in poverty, many of them going to sleep tonight hungry, hungry, 
hungry. As the Congress, as the conscience of America, as the people's 
House, we need to work together to eliminate poverty in America.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________