[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 1626-1627]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         FIFTY YEARS FROM SELMA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, in one of his great books, Martin Luther 
King, Jr., asked the question: Where do we go from here--chaos or 
community?
  Mr. Speaker, today, 50 years after Selma, that question is still in 
need of an answer.
  One area in need of aggressive action is persistent poverty, and I 
want to thank President Obama for sending us a budget that equalizes 
the Tax Code and that, if substantially enacted, will move us closer to 
what Dr. King often referred to as the ``beloved community.''
  Statistics show that there are nearly 500 counties and thousands of 
communities in the United States that are classified by the Census 
Bureau as ``persistent-poverty areas.'' They are certified because 20 
percent of their populations have lived below the poverty line for the 
last 30 or more years. They are diverse communities, including 
Caucasian communities in States like West Virginia, Kentucky, and 
Tennessee; Native American communities in States like South Dakota, 
Alaska, and Oklahoma; Latino communities in States like Arizona, New 
Mexico, and Texas; and African American communities in States like 
South Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi. They are urban communities in 
States like New York and heartland communities in States like Missouri.
  There are 139 of these counties that are represented in this House by 
Democrats, 331 by Republicans, and 18 are split between the two 
parties. Combating persistent poverty should matter to all of us 
regardless of party, geography, or race.
  In early 2009, as we were putting together the Recovery Act, I 
proposed language to require at least 10 percent of funds in three 
rural development accounts to be directed to efforts in these 
persistent-poverty counties. This requirement was enacted into law. In 
light of the definition of ``persistent-poverty counties'' as having at 
least 20 percent poverty rates over 30 years, this provision became 
known as the ``10-20-30 initiative.''
  In using the 10-20-30 formula, the Recovery Act funded a total of 
4,655 projects in persistent-poverty counties, totaling nearly $1.7 
billion. I saw firsthand the positive effects of these projects in my 
district. We were able to undertake projects and create jobs that would 
have otherwise languished. Among these investments were a $5.8 million 
grant and a $2 million loan to construct 51 miles of water lines in the 
rural community of Brittons Neck in Marion County, South Carolina.
  There are many other success stories. In Lowndes County, Mississippi, 
$17.5 million was spent to install a water line, elevator tank, and two 
wastewater pump stations, providing potable water to rural 
Mississippians and creating badly needed construction jobs.
  In 2011, I joined with our former Republican colleague, 
Representative Jo Ann Emerson of Missouri, to introduce an amendment to 
the continuing resolution that would have continued 10-20-30 for rural 
development and would have expanded it to 11 additional accounts 
throughout the Federal budget to enhance economic development, 
education, job training, health, justice, the environment, and much 
more.
  I want to make one thing clear about the 10-20-30 approach. It does 
not add one dime to the deficit. It simply targets resources from funds 
already authorized or appropriated.
  Over the past 30 years, the national economy has risen and fallen 
multiple

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times. During these economic downturns, we have been rightly focused on 
getting our economy, as a whole, on track. We have not given adequate 
attention to these communities that are suffering from chronic distress 
and Depression-era levels of joblessness.
  Mr. Speaker, I would hope that, as we undertake this budget, we will 
find ways to work together to move our Nation closer to Dr. King's 
dream of a beloved community.

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