IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1048 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Congress 

should enact the Poverty Bill of Rights to reaffirm the right of all 

Americans to live a life free from poverty and its impacts. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 16, 2020 

Ms. FUDGE (for herself, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. BASS, Mr. CARSON of 

Indiana, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. COOPER, Mr. EVANS, Ms. GARCIA

of Texas, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, 

Mr. KENNEDY, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. RUSH, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, 

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, and Mrs. BEATTY) submitted 

the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

the Congress should enact the Poverty Bill of Rights 

to reaffirm the right of all Americans to live a life 

free from poverty and its impacts. 

Whereas according to the Census Bureau, more than 

38,000,000 people, including 12,000,000 children, lived 

in poverty in 2018 based on the Official Poverty Measure; 

Whereas more than 17,000,000 people lived in deep poverty, 

defined as living in a household with a total cash income 

below 50 percent of its poverty threshold; 


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Whereas poverty disproportionately impacts communities of 

color, with the poverty rate at 20.8 percent for Blacks, 

17.6 percent for Hispanics, and 10.1 percent for Asians, 

versus 8.1 percent for non-Hispanic Whites; 

Whereas the Official Poverty Measure often understates the 

number of people who have trouble making ends meet; 

Whereas according to a 2020 Federal Reserve report on the 

economic well-being of United States households, an estimated 37 percent of people cannot cover an unexpected 

$400 expense; 

Whereas the top one percent of United States households 

have experienced income growth before taxes and transfer 

payments nearly seven times faster than the bottom 20 

percent of households since 1979; 

Whereas wealth has become even more concentrated than income; 

Whereas according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 

the top 10 percent of United States households ranked 

by wealth own 77 percent of the country’s total wealth 

while those in the bottom 50 percent own one percent; 

Whereas a full-time, full-year minimum wage worker at the 

Federal minimum wage level of $7.25 lives below the poverty line; 

Whereas a vast majority of low wage earners lack access to 

paid family leave, leaving them just one accident or illness away from economic devastation; 

Whereas unions increase workers’ wages, ensure access to 

better benefits, address wage inequality, and reduce poverty; 


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Whereas 5,140,000 Americans aged 65 and older lived in 

poverty in 2018; 

Whereas according to the United States Census Bureau, 

27,500,000 people did not have health insurance at any 

point in 2018; 

Whereas according to the Federal Reserve, 25 percent of 

adults reported skipping medical care, such as a visit to 

a doctor or dentist, because they were unable to afford 

the cost in 2019; 

Whereas minority and low-income individuals are disproportionately affected by air pollution and are more likely to 

face health conditions that put them at greater risk when 

exposed to hazardous air pollution; 

Whereas families living in poverty also struggle to afford 

childcare, housing, utilities, and food expenses; 

Whereas according to the United States Census Bureau, 

households with incomes less than the Federal poverty 

level who pay for childcare spend on average four times 

the percentage of their income on it as do other families; 

Whereas in 2017, 83 percent of renter households with incomes below $15,000 paid more than 30 percent of their 

total household income for housing, experiencing housing 

costs burdens, and 72 percent paid more than 50 percent 

of their income for housing, experiencing severe cost burdens; 

Whereas water and wastewater bills are increasingly 

unaffordable for millions of households nationwide; 

Whereas according to the Energy Information Administration, nearly one-third of United States households reported facing a challenge in paying energy bills or susVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1048.IH HR1048

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taining adequate heating and cooling in their homes in 

2015; 

Whereas more than 20,000,000 Americans lack access to any 

broadband whatsoever and many more are unable to 

adopt broadband, primarily due to prohibitive costs; 

Whereas limited access to technology and broadband services 

makes it difficult for people to apply for jobs online, connect with health insurance, apply for financial aid, 

telework, or complete online homework; 

Whereas according to the Department of Agriculture, 

37,200,000 people, including 11,200,000 children, lived 

in food-insecure households in 2018; 

Whereas 5,600,000 households had very low food security, 

defined as households in which the food intake of one or 

more members was reduced and eating patterns disrupted because of insufficient money and other resources 

for food; 

Whereas according to a 2009 Department of Agriculture report on access to affordable and nutritious food, millions 

of people live in food deserts, or areas where they are 

more than a mile from a supermarket; 

Whereas reliable and affordable public transportation is critical to accessing employment, food, health care, and education; 

Whereas the educational level attained by individuals has a 

dramatic impact on poverty, with 25.9 percent of adults 

over 25 years old without a high school diploma in poverty versus 12.7 percent for those with a high school degree, but no college, and 4.4 percent for those with a college degree; 


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Whereas according to the Government Accountability Office, 

socioeconomic and racial segregation in schools has increased dramatically in the past decade; 

Whereas low-income individuals are more likely to be targeted 

by child welfare services and the criminal justice system 

and live in communities with high rates of violence and 

heavy police presence; 

Whereas low-income parents have their children removed 

from the household every day, because living in poverty 

is incorrectly treated as child neglect; 

Whereas the criminal justice system often punishes poverty, 

as court fees and fines disproportionately impact the 

poor; 

Whereas police are most likely to use deadly force in low-income, more highly segregated neighborhoods; 

Whereas low-income communities often have limited social 

capital and political voice; 

Whereas strict voter ID requirements, closures of polling 

places, limited access to alternatives to in-person voting 

and other voter suppression tactics disproportionately impact poor and minority Americans; 

Whereas the effects of poverty are widespread, long-lasting, 

and dangerous, and leave families vulnerable to unexpected events; 

Whereas adults who were poor during childhood are more 

likely to experience poverty as adults, are less likely to 

graduate high school, and are less likely to be consistently employed as young adults; 

Whereas lower incomes are associated with shorter life 

expectancies; 


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Whereas the COVID–19 pandemic threatens to increase 

health, food, housing, and economic insecurity and push 

millions of people into poverty; 

Whereas low-income and minority communities have long experienced inadequate access to health care, housing, nutritious food, and education and economic opportunity, 

which increase the prevalence of COVID–19 risk factors, 

such as diabetes, asthma, heart disease, and high blood 

pressure; and 

Whereas the COVID–19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated the inequality and poverty afflicting the United 

States, as well as underlined the shortcomings of its social safety net programs: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that the Congress should enact the Poverty 

3 Bill of Rights to reaffirm the right of all Americans to 

4 live a life free from poverty and its impacts, including the 

5 right to— 

6 (1) equal opportunity, irrespective of race, gen7 der, or socioeconomic status; 

8 (2) working family tax credits, such as the 

9 Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Cred10 it, that are proven to lift families out of poverty, free 

11 from onerous eligibility requirements; 

12 (3) a livable wage that is enough to ensure ade13 quate housing, food, clothing, and other basic house14 hold needs; 


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1 (4) robust paid leave programs so they can care 

2 for themselves, their families, and dependents with3 out fear of financial devastation; 

4 (5) emergency financial assistance in times of 

5 unemployment; 

6 (6) unionize to negotiate for higher wages, bet7 ter benefits, and safe working conditions; 

8 (7) financial security for themselves and their 

9 families during retirement years; 

10 (8) quality, affordable health care and prescrip11 tion drugs; 

12 (9) clean air through robust environmental and 

13 public health policies; 

14 (10) high-quality, affordable, and reliable 

15 childcare; 

16 (11) accessible, affordable, safe housing; 

17 (12) safe, clean, and affordable water and 

18 wastewater services; 

19 (13) affordable, reliable energy service; 

20 (14) equitable access to technology and tele21 phone and broadband services; 

22 (15) adequate access to affordable and nutri23 tious foods; 

24 (16) reliable, efficient, and affordable public 

25 transportation; 


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1 (17) high-quality, equitable PreK–12 public 

2 education; 

3 (18) safe public schools that promote racial and 

4 socioeconomic diversity; 

5 (19) access to affordable higher education, reg6 istered apprenticeships, and other vocational train7 ing opportunities; 

8 (20) live with their families and not be sepa9 rated from each other on the basis of poverty; 

10 (21) safe neighborhoods, where they are pro11 tected by law enforcement, not targeted, profiled, 

12 harassed, and brutalized; 

13 (22) equal treatment in criminal justice set14 tings, free from discrimination; and 

15 (23) equal representation and participation in 

16 democracy through unfettered, unabridged access to 

17 the ballot box, accessible polling places, and alter18 natives to traditional in-person voting, such as early 

19 voting and voting by mail. 

Æ 


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