•HRES 159 IH 
Whereas the current wealth gap between upper-income house-
holds and the rest of the country is the widest gap expe-
rienced in 30 years since the Federal Reserve began col-
lecting this data; 
Whereas the decline in wealth of the Nation’s middle and 
lower class has not been shared equally across demo-
graphic groups and the wealth gap between communities 
of color and Whites, commonly known as the racial 
wealth gap, is also widening; 
Whereas according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 
the average wealth level for White households is 
$134,000—as compared to $91,000 for Asians, $14,000 
for Latinos, and $11,000 for African-Americans, which 
makes the median wealth of White households 13 times 
the median wealth of Black households, and more than 
10 times the median wealth of Latino households; 
Whereas the median liquid wealth for African-American 
households is $200, $340 for Latinos, $19,500 for 
Asians, and $23,000 for whites; 
Whereas, in 2013, White households had $100,000 more in 
liquid retirement savings than African-American or 
Latino households, who held roughly $19,000 and 
$12,000 in liquid retirement savings, respectively; 
Whereas wealth in America is primarily accumulated through 
home equity and making home ownership an important 
strategy of financial stability and moving families out of 
poverty, especially for middle class families and commu-
nities of color; 
Whereas in 2007, homeownership accounted for 65% of mid-
dle-income household wealth and 32% for upper-income 
household wealth; 
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•HRES 159 IH 
Whereas, prior to 2007, for African-American households, 
homeownership constituted 92% of their wealth and 67% 
of Latino household wealth, compared to 58% of wealth 
for White households; 
Whereas the current unprecedented wealth gap was fueled by 
the Great Recession of 2007–2009 when home prices fell 
by 24%, $10 trillion was lost in the stock market, almost 
5 million homes fell into foreclosure, and the Nation ex-
perienced general financial decline; 
Whereas during the Great Recession, upper-income household 
wealth declined by 17%, while middle-income household 
wealth declined by 39%, and low-income household 
wealth declined by 41%; 
Whereas the Great Recession had the most profound impact 
on African-Americans whose wealth declined by approxi-
mately 52%, and Latino households whose wealth de-
clined by 66%, compared to a 16% decrease in wealth for 
White households; 
Whereas the Great Recession reduced the value of homes dis-
proportionately for minorities as the average real home 
values for Latino homeowners decreased nearly $100,000 
or 35% and nearly $69,000 or 31% for African-American 
homeowners, while the average home values for White 
homeowners fell 15% over this same period; 
Whereas upper-income households have largely recouped 
much of their losses from the Great Recession, while 
middle- and lower-income households and people of color 
have yet to experience the effects of the Nation’s eco-
nomic recovery; 
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•HRES 159 IH 
Whereas 95% of economic gains during the recovery period 
from the Great Recession went to the top 1% of the pop-
ulation; 
Whereas, during the recovery, the median wealth of White 
households increased by 2.4% from $138,600 to 
$141,900, while the median wealth of African-American 
households fell 33.7%, from $16,600 to $11,000 and the 
median wealth for Latino households decreased by 
14.3%, from $16,000 to $13,700; 
Whereas upper-income families were largely able to weather 
the storm of the Great Recession due to an ability to in-
vest in the stock market and other financial products, 
which have been the primary source of much of the Na-
tion’s gains in wealth since the economic crisis; 
Whereas, in 2007, the wealthiest 20% of households held 
15% of their wealth in investments, stocks, and other 
similar financial products, the wealthiest 1% of house-
holds held 25% of their wealth in investments and stocks, 
and middle-income households held just 3% of their 
wealth in similar stocks, investments, and other financial 
products; 
Whereas wages and income largely determine a family’s abil-
ity to invest in the stock market; 
Whereas middle- and low-income households and communities 
of color have experienced wage stagnation requiring them 
to spend the majority of their income on everyday items 
and basic needs, as opposed to investment in the stock 
market, which has recovered and generated wealth more 
quickly than the housing market; 
Whereas, since 1979, middle-wage workers’ hourly wages 
have risen 6%, low-wage workers’ wages have decreased 
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•HRES 159 IH 
5%, and upper-wage workers have experienced a 41% 
wage increase; 
Whereas, from 1980–2013, households with the top 1% of in-
come experienced wage growth at a rate of 138%, while 
wages of households in the bottom 90% experienced wage 
growth at a rate of 15%; 
Whereas, CEOs now make 296 times what a typical worker 
earns; 
Whereas income inequality also falls along racial lines as dur-
ing the years of economic recovery, the median income of 
minority households fell 9% compared to a decrease of 
just 1% for White households, leaving minority house-
holds with less money to replenish savings and invest in 
the stock market even after the Great Recession; 
Whereas President Barack Obama has stated that the grow-
ing inequality in our country and lack of upward mobility 
for the middle class is the ‘‘defining challenge of our 
time’’; 
Whereas Federal Reserve Chair, Janet Yellen, has warned 
that income inequality is a ‘‘very serious problem’’; 
Whereas a September 2014 study by Harvard Business 
School, titled, ‘‘An Economy Doing Half Its Job’’ stated 
that the growing disparity between the very wealthy and 
the lower and middle classes is no longer sustainable; 
Whereas in a draft statement, the Group of 20 finance offi-
cials, commonly known as G–20, for the first time 
warned that growing income inequality could harm eco-
nomic growth; and 
Whereas economists at the International Monetary Fund 
have argued that higher inequality is correlated with 
lower and less, long-lasting growth: Now, therefore, be it 
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•HRES 159 IH 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes that all families need to be eco-
nomically secure to create opportunities for their 
children and the Nation’s next generation; 
(2) recognizes that wealth and income inequal-
ity hurt economic growth and risks economic secu-
rity for individual families, our communities, and the 
Nation as a whole; 
(3) supports the elimination of the wealth gap 
and the racial wealth gap as national economic secu-
rity priorities; and 
(4) acknowledges that Congress has a responsi-
bility to implement thoughtful, proven and prag-
matic policy strategies to eliminate the wealth gap 
and the racial wealth gap. 
Æ 
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