IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 971 

Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the War on Poverty and 

acknowledging its shortcomings. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 17, 2024 

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN (for herself, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. JOHNSON

of Georgia, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mrs. 

PELTOLA, Mr. MULLIN, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. 

NORTON, Mr. MCGARVEY, Ms. TOKUDA, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. 

CARTER of Louisiana, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. TRONE, Ms. SEWELL, Ms. 

ADAMS, Ms. WILSON of Florida, and Ms. OMAR) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability 

RESOLUTION 

Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the War on Poverty 

and acknowledging its shortcomings. 

Whereas, 60 years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared an unconditional War on Poverty in his first State 

of the Union Address on January 8, 1964; 

Whereas the War on Poverty sought to address the high rate 

of poverty in the United States, including by implementing measures to prevent poverty; 

Whereas the War on Poverty was defined by the 1964 Economic Opportunity Act which created the Office of EcoVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:53 Jan 17, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR971.IH HR971

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•HRES 971 IH 

nomic Opportunity to focus Federal attention and administration of antipoverty initiatives; 

Whereas the War on Poverty permanently codified the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in 1964 and 

other critical food assistance programs; 

Whereas the War on Poverty implemented one of the biggest 

reformations in education policy through the Elementary 

and Secondary Education Act of 1965; 

Whereas the War on Poverty created Medicare and Medicaid 

through the Social Security Amendments of 1965; 

Whereas the War on Poverty established the Department of 

Housing and Urban Development and what would become the Department of Health and Human Services; 

Whereas poverty declined by 30 percent within 5 years after 

the War on Poverty was declared and the country was on 

track to effectively end poverty within two decades; 

Whereas subsequent progress has been incomplete and sometimes temporary, in part due to the failure of economic 

growth to deliver widely shared prosperity; 

Whereas the Johnson administration rejected calls for a guaranteed income and former Presidents of both parties have 

acknowledged limited income security initiatives as a 

shortcoming of the War on Poverty; 

Whereas the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom brought nationwide attention to issues of poverty by 

fighting for economic justice through guaranteed employment, education, and guaranteed housing as means to ensure a minimum living standard for all; 


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•HRES 971 IH 

Whereas the War on Poverty failed to address ensuring fair 

and good jobs for all who can work and failed to adequately prepare people for the workforce; 

Whereas the United States has the highest incidence of lowpaid work among the wealthiest nations; 

Whereas antipoverty legislation has not adapted to the poverty landscape today and has not followed through on the 

successes of the War on Poverty; and 

Whereas the 2021 fully refundable child tax credit cut children’s poverty in half for that year, and thus proved that 

there are policy options that the Federal Government is 

failing to use: Now therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) commemorates the 60th anniversary of 

3 President Lyndon B. Johnson’s declared War on 

4 Poverty; 

5 (2) acknowledges that the War on Poverty was 

6 a resolute effort to decrease poverty and laid the 

7 groundwork to create an equitable and prosperous 

8 society for all Americans; 

9 (3) acknowledges that the War on Poverty had 

10 shortcomings that need to be rectified; 

11 (4) acknowledges that the shortcomings of the 

12 War on Poverty disproportionately affect racial mi13 norities and those low on the socioeconomic ladder; 


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•HRES 971 IH 

1 (5) acknowledges that as long as poverty exists, 

2 citizens will not be able to take full advantage of op3 portunities in the United States; 

4 (6) recognizes that poverty is harmful to the 

5 economy and results in lost economic productivity; 

6 (7) encourages the Federal Government to con7 tinue to undo harmful policies that have kept Ameri8 cans in poverty, such as reforming the criminal jus9 tice system, making education affordable and acces10 sible, and guaranteeing housing and other basic ben11 efits; and 

12 (8) calls upon the Federal Government to con13 tinue to address poverty in the United States by 

14 building upon and extending the framework of the 

15 War on Poverty. 

Æ 


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