I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3300 
To establish the Federal Interagency Working Group on Reducing Poverty 
which will create and carry out a national plan to cut poverty in America 
in half in ten years. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 1, 2011 
Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Mr. STARK, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. 
BACA, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. 
BUTTERFIELD, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. BROWN of Florida, and Mr. KUCI-
NICH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Oversight and Government Reform 
A BILL 
To establish the Federal Interagency Working Group on Re-
ducing Poverty which will create and carry out a national 
plan to cut poverty in America in half in ten years. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Half in Ten Act of 
2011’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Poverty can be seen as a deep, structural 
problem that implicates our value system and our 
educational and economic institutions. 
(2) Poverty may be defined as the lack of basic 
necessities of life such as food, shelter, clothing, 
health care, education, economic security, and eco-
nomic opportunity. 
(3) Policy initiatives and many safety net pro-
grams addressing poverty have not kept pace with 
the needs of millions of Americans. 
(4) The lack of an equitable distribution of 
housing choices across the country leads to isolation 
and concentrated poverty. 
(5) The number of Americans living in poverty 
rose by over 2.6 million from 2009 to 2010 (U.S. 
Census Bureau, September 2011). 
(6) There were 46.2 million Americans living in 
poverty in 2010, consisting of 15.1 percent of the 
American people (U.S. Census Bureau, September 
2011). 
(7) Poverty has a disproportionate impact on 
minority communities in America with 27.4 percent 
of African-Americans, 26.6 percent of Hispanics, 
12.1 percent of Asian Americans, and 9.9 percent of 
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Whites living in poverty in the United States in 
2010 (U.S. Census Bureau, September 2011). 
(8) In 2010 a family of 4 was considered poor 
under the U.S. Census Bureau’s official measure if 
the family’s income was below $22,314. 
(9) The economic consequences of poverty in 
the United States are estimated to be at least $500 
billion per year (Center for American Progress, 
2007). 
(10) Children who grow up in poverty experi-
ence higher crime rates, decreased productivity, and 
higher health costs over their lives (Center for Amer-
ican Progress, 2007). 
(11) 3,500,000 seniors lived in poverty in 2010 
(U.S. Census Bureau, 2011). 
(12) Young Americans, ages 18–24, experience 
a higher poverty rate than the national average 
(U.S. Census Bureau, 2011). 
(13) 16,400,000 children lived in poverty in 
2010—more than one in every five American chil-
dren (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011). 
(14) Almost 35 percent of African-American 
children and over 30 percent of Hispanic children 
lived in poverty in 2009 (U.S. Census Bureau, 
2011). 
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(15) The 46,180,000 of Americans in poverty 
in 2010 was the largest number yet recorded in the 
52 years for which poverty estimates are available 
(U.S. Census Bureau, 2011). 
(16) Children who live in families who fall into 
poverty for even short periods of time are at greater 
risk of a lifetime of lower earnings, lower edu-
cational attainment, and increased reliance on public 
services and increased rates of incarceration (First 
Focus, 2008). 
(17) It is estimated that the additional 3 mil-
lion children who were forced into poverty due to the 
recession of 2008, resulted in $35 billion in eco-
nomic losses annually, and will cause at least $1.7 
trillion in economic losses to the United States dur-
ing their lifetimes (First Focus, 2008). 
(18) Reducing poverty, especially child poverty, 
not only reduces costs for Federal, State, and local 
social services and benefits programs, but also in-
creases tax revenue at all levels of government (Chil-
dren’s Defense Fund, 2009). 
(19) The House of Representatives, on January 
22, 2008, has resolved that it is the sense of Con-
gress that the United States should set a national 
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goal of cutting poverty in half over the next 10 
years. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) FEDERAL
AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 
agency’’ means any executive department, Govern-
ment corporation, Government-controlled corpora-
tion, or other establishment in the executive branch 
of the Government (including the Executive Office of 
the President), or any independent regulatory agen-
cy. 
(2) POVERTY.—The term ‘‘poverty’’ means an 
income level and living standard associated with and 
based on the official poverty measure as established 
and updated by the U.S. Census Bureau which es-
tablishes a threshold of minimum income necessary 
to achieve a standard of living free from deprivation 
of basic needs. 
(3) EXTREME POVERTY.—The term ‘‘extreme 
poverty’’ means having an income level or living 
standard at a level of extreme deprivation based on 
living with income below 50 percent of the Federal 
poverty line as established by the U.S. Census. 
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(4) NEAR POVERTY.—The term ‘‘near poverty’’ 
means having a level of household income below 200 
percent of the Federal poverty line. 
(5) CHILD
POVERTY.—The term ‘‘child pov-
erty’’ means poverty which impacts those persons 
under 18 years of age. 
(6) DEPRIVATION.—The term ‘‘deprivation’’ 
means lacking some or all basic human needs. 
(7) DECENT
LIVING
STANDARD.—The term 
‘‘decent living standard’’ means the amount of an-
nual income that would allow an individual to live 
beyond deprivation at a safe and decent, but modest, 
standard of living. 
(8) ALTERNATIVE
POVERTY
MEASURES.—The 
term ‘‘alternative poverty measures’’ means meas-
ures and indicators, other than the traditional in-
come based measure of poverty, which can provide a 
more detailed picture of the low-income and poverty 
stricken populations, such as the number of people 
who were kept above poverty by Government sup-
ports, the number of people who are poor due to 
medical expenses, child care, and work expenses, the 
rates of food insecurity, the number of people who 
are asset poor (with less than three months of in-
come saved), the number of disconnected youth, teen 
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birth rates, participation rates in Federal anti-pov-
erty programs for all eligible populations, and the 
number of people who are unbanked. 
(9) REGIONAL
COSTS
OF
LIVING.—The term 
‘‘regional costs of living’’ means a measure of the 
differing costs of maintaining a given living standard 
in varying regional, geographic, urban or rural re-
gions. 
(10) ECONOMIC INSECURITY.—The term ‘‘eco-
nomic insecurity’’ means the inability of individuals 
and households to cope with routine adverse or cost-
ly life events and the lack of means to maintain a 
decent standard of living and to recover from the 
costly consequences of those events. 
(11) ECONOMIC
STABILITY.—The term ‘‘eco-
nomic stability’’ means individuals and households 
have access to the means and support systems nec-
essary to effectively cope with adverse or costly life 
events and have the ability to effectively recover 
from the consequences of those events while main-
taining their standard of living or maintaining a de-
cent standard of living. 
(12) DIGITAL DIVIDE.—The term ‘‘digital di-
vide’’ means the gap between individuals, house-
holds, businesses and geographic areas at different 
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socio-economic levels with regard to both their access 
information and communications technologies and 
including the imbalance both in physical access to 
technology and the resources, education and skills 
needed to effectively use computer technology and 
the Internet for a wide variety of activities. 
(13) OUTCOMES.—The term ‘‘outcomes’’ means 
change in the economic status, economic instability 
or economic security of an individual, household or 
other population which is attributable to a planned 
intervention, benefit, or service or series of interven-
tions, benefits, and services, regardless of whether 
such an intervention was intended to change such 
economic status. 
(14) DISPARATE IMPACT.—The term ‘‘disparate 
impact’’ refers to the historic and ongoing impacts 
of the pattern and practice of discrimination in em-
ployment, education, housing, banking and nearly 
every other aspect of American life in the economy, 
society or culture that have an adverse impact on 
minorities, women, or other protected groups, re-
gardless of whether such practices were motivated by 
discriminatory intent. 
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SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FEDERAL INTERAGENCY 
WORKING GROUP ON REDUCING POVERTY. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT
OF FEDERAL INTERAGENCY 
WORKING GROUP ON REDUCING POVERTY.—There is es-
tablished within the Department of Health and Human 
Services, a Federal Interagency Working Group on Reduc-
ing Poverty, which shall be chaired by the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services, and whose members shall be 
selected by their respective agency heads from the senior 
ranks of their agencies, which shall— 
(1) develop, within 180 days of enactment, a 
National Plan or Strategy to reduce the number of 
persons living in poverty in America in half within 
10 years of the release of the 2011 Census report 
on Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage 
in the United States: 2010, that includes goals and 
objectives relating to— 
(A) reducing in half the number of Ameri-
cans living in poverty as reported by the 2011 
Census report on Income, Poverty and Health 
Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010; 
(B) eliminating child poverty in America; 
(C) eliminating extreme poverty in Amer-
ica; 
(D) improving the effectiveness and out-
comes of poverty related programs by improving 
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our understanding of the root causes of poverty, 
the social, economic, and the cultural contribu-
tors to persistent intergenerational poverty; 
(E) improving the measure of poverty to 
include more indicators and measures that can 
meaningfully account for other aspects relating 
to the measure of poverty, such as regional dif-
ferences in costs of living, the impact of rising 
income inequality, the impact of the persistent 
‘‘digital divide’’, expanding the understanding 
of poverty by distinguishing a standard that 
measures a level of freedom from deprivation 
versus a standard that measures a standard of 
economic adequacy provided by a living wage 
and access to a decent living standard, and the 
impact of poverty on other measures of eco-
nomic stability and economic outcomes, such as 
educational attainment, rates of incarceration, 
lifetime 
earnings, 
access 
to 
healthcare, 
healthcare outcomes, access to housing, and in-
cluding other measures as necessary to improve 
our understanding of why poverty persists in 
America; 
(F) eliminating the disparate rates of pov-
erty based on race, ethnicity, gender, age, or 
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sexual 
orientation 
and 
identity, 
especially 
among children in those households so im-
pacted; 
(G) measuring effectiveness of poverty re-
lated programs on the basis of long term out-
comes, including the long term savings and 
value of preventive practice and policy, and em-
ploying fact based measures of programs to 
make improvements; 
(H) improving the accessibility of benefit 
and social services programs, reducing the com-
plexity and difficulty of enrollment, and improv-
ing the rates of enrollment in need based pro-
grams for all eligible recipients to maximize the 
impact of benefits and social services programs 
on reducing the impacts of poverty and improv-
ing economic outcomes; 
(I) expanding eligibility to improve the co-
ordination of service delivery, reduce gaps in 
eligibility, and improve outcomes of programs 
addressing poverty in the Federal Government; 
(J) reducing the negative impact of asset 
limits on eligibility for Federal programs on the 
effectiveness of programs where limited eligi-
bility creates gaps in necessary service and ben-
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efit delivery, and in access which prevents needy 
beneficiaries from improving long term out-
comes and achieving long term economic inde-
pendence from need based programs; 
(K) improving the access of poor, low-in-
come, and the unemployed to good jobs with 
adequate wages and benefits; 
(L) expanding and stabilizing poor and low 
income persons connection to work; 
(M) developing a comprehensive strategy to 
connect low-income young people and to re-con-
nect currently disconnected youth to education, 
work, and their community; and 
(N) shifting the focus of poverty and 
human needs programs across the Federal Gov-
ernment beyond the relief of deprivation to in-
stead setting goals, measures, and outcomes re-
lated to helping individuals and families rise up 
and out of poverty and achieving long term eco-
nomic stability which will reduce long term 
costs in domestic social needs programs, reduce 
long term healthcare costs due to the improved 
health of formerly poverty stricken households, 
increase the number of tax paying individuals 
which will increase revenue, and lower the en-
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rollment and costs in need based benefits and 
services programs, thus improving the economy 
and reducing long term deficits for Federal, 
State, and local governments; 
(2) oversee, coordinate, and integrate all poli-
cies and activities of the Federal Government, in co-
ordination and consultation with the Domestic Pol-
icy Council and the National Economic Council, 
across all agencies relating to reducing the number 
of individuals, families, and children living below the 
Federal poverty line, in extreme poverty or near pov-
erty and increasing the number of households able 
to achieve long-term economic stability with assets 
sufficient to maintain a decent living standard with-
out relying on public supports— 
(A) 
economic, 
commercial, 
and 
pro-
grammatic policies that can effect or relieve the 
effects of poverty through job creation, and eco-
nomic development targeted to low income, mi-
nority, rural, urban and other populations who 
suffer disparate rates of poverty, among Fed-
eral agencies; and 
(B) services and benefits including emer-
gency programs, discretionary economic pro-
grams, and other policies and activities nec-
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essary to ensure that the Federal Government 
is able to mount effective responses to economic 
downturns and increases in the rates of poverty; 
(3) ensure that all relevant Federal agencies 
and congressional committees comply with appro-
priate guidelines, policies, and directives from the 
Federal Interagency Working Group on Reducing 
Poverty and the Department of Health and Human 
Services and other Federal agencies with responsibil-
ities relating to poverty reduction or improving eco-
nomic stability and independence; 
(4) ensure that Federal agencies have access to, 
receive, and appropriately disseminate best practices 
in the administration of programs, have adequate re-
sources to maximize the public awareness of pro-
grams, increase the reach of those programs, espe-
cially into historically disenfranchised communities, 
maximize enrollment for all eligible Americans, share 
relevant data, and issue relevant guidance in con-
sultation with non-government organizations and 
policy experts in the field and State and local gov-
ernment officials who administer or direct policy for 
anti-poverty programs in increasing and maximizing 
the enrollment into and administration of programs 
and services designed to alleviate poverty; and 
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(5) enact best practices for improved data col-
lection, relevant to— 
(A) reducing poverty; 
(B) reducing the racial, ethnic, age, gen-
der, and sexual orientation or sexual identity 
based disparities in the rates of poverty; 
(C) the effectiveness and efficiency of pro-
grams; 
(D) streamlining enrollment and eligibility 
for programs; 
(E) improving long term outcomes for pro-
grams; 
(F) reducing reliance on public programs; 
(G) improving connections to work; 
(H) improving economic stability; 
(I) improving savings and investment, ac-
cess to capital, increasing rates of entrepreneur-
ship; 
(J) improving access to living wage em-
ployment; and 
(K) improving access to employment based 
benefits. 
(b) DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL POVERTY POLICY.— 
There shall be a Staff Director of National Poverty Policy, 
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who shall be the head of the Federal Interagency Working 
Group on Reducing Poverty. 
SEC. 5. APPOINTMENT AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DI-
RECTOR. 
(a) APPOINTMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Staff Director shall be 
appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services. 
(2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Secretary shall ap-
point the Staff Director from among individuals who 
have demonstrated ability and knowledge in social 
policy, improving outcome based management, issues 
of equity and equal opportunity and access to serv-
ices and economic opportunity. 
(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Staff Director shall— 
(1) advise the Secretary and all relevant cabinet 
secretaries, and agency officials regarding the estab-
lishment of policies, goals, objectives, and priorities 
for reducing poverty in America in half in ten years, 
ending child poverty, ending extreme poverty and 
eliminating racial, ethnic, gender, and sexual iden-
tity and orientation based disparities in the rates of 
poverty; 
(2) advise the Secretary, relevant cabinet secre-
taries, heads of independent Federal agencies and 
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