Title: Expressing the moral responsibility of the Congress to end adult and child poverty in the United States.
Policy area: Social Welfare

Summary:
This resolution acknowledges that child poverty prevents children from reaching healthy development and an economically secure future. It also encourages all levels of government to enact and support anti-poverty policies and programs.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 67 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 67

 Expressing the moral responsibility of the Congress to end adult and 
                  child poverty in the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 28, 2021

Ms. Lee of California (for herself, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Garcia 
 of Illinois, Mr. Lowenthal, Mrs. Beatty, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mrs. 
    Watson Coleman, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mr. Rush, Mr. Khanna, Ms. 
 Schakowsky, Ms. Norton, Ms. Sewell, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. 
 McGovern, Mr. Deutch, Mr. Vargas, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Sablan, 
and Ms. Kaptur) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
                to the Committee on Oversight and Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the moral responsibility of the Congress to end adult and 
                  child poverty in the United States.

Whereas poverty is an immoral and economic stain on our Nation and needs to be 
        addressed;
Whereas the poverty rate in the United States, the wealthiest nation in the 
        world, continues to rank among the highest when compared to other 
        developed nations;
Whereas according to the ``Poor People's Moral Budget: Everybody Has the Right 
        to Live'', 140,000,000 Americans are poor or one emergency away from 
        being poor;
Whereas, in 2019, 34,000,000 people including nearly 11,000,000 children were 
        living in poverty based on the Official Poverty Measure (OPM);
Whereas 1 in 7 children live in poverty and more than 4,500,000 of these 
        children lived in extreme poverty, at less than half the poverty level, 
        and nearly 3 in 4 poor children were children of color;
Whereas child poverty creates gaps in cognitive skills for very young children, 
        puts children at greater risk of hunger and homelessness, jeopardizes 
        their health and ability to learn, and fuels the intergenerational cycle 
        of poverty;
Whereas communities of color face disproportionate rates of poverty and 
        inequality;
Whereas approximately 8,900,000 Black, 10,500,000 Latinx, 2,000,000 Asian, and 
        2,100,000 Native and Indigenous people live in poverty in the United 
        States;
Whereas more than 1 in 4 Black children and more than 1 in 5 Hispanic and 
        American Indian/Alaska Native children were poor compared with 1 in 12 
        White children;
Whereas income inequality is the worst it has been in five decades;
Whereas more than 19,000,000 women lived in poverty in 2019, with women of 
        color, women with disabilities, and older women facing higher rates of 
        poverty than women overall;
Whereas the top 10 percent of United States households own 70 percent of the 
        country's total wealth and those in the bottom 50 percent saw no 
        increase in their wealth over the past 30 years;
Whereas, in 2019, 35,200,000 people, including 10,700,000 children, were deemed 
        food insecure, including the 11,900,000 people living in 5,300,000 
        households defined by the Department of Agriculture as very food 
        insecure, a number virtually unchanged since 2018;
Whereas if COVID-19 incidences continue as projected through this year and next, 
        the number of people experiencing food insecurity in 2020 would increase 
        by over 17,000,000, including nearly 7,000,000 children, which means 
        54,000,000 people (1 in 6) would experience food insecurity in 2020, 
        including 18,000,000 children (1 in 4);
Whereas the Federal minimum wage has not changed from $7.25 per hour since 2009, 
        and Federal law has allowed employers to pay tipped workers just $2.13 
        per hour since 1991;
Whereas the value of the minimum wage has declined in real terms by more than 30 
        percent since 1968;
Whereas the Official Poverty Measure (OPM) has been adjusted only for inflation 
        since 1963 and does not adequately capture sufficient needs for families 
        to cover food, housing, utilities, and childcare expenses;
Whereas 62,000,000 workers in the United States work for less than a living 
        wage;
Whereas over 200,000 people with disabilities work for a subminimum wage;
Whereas the United States does not require a national minimum paid sick time 
        standard, and therefore working adults without paid sick leave are three 
        times more likely to have incomes below the poverty line;
Whereas fewer than 40 percent of American working adults have access to paid 
        medical leave to address a serious illness or injury through employer-
        provided short-term disability insurance, and fewer than 60 percent are 
        eligible to take unpaid FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act), leaving 
        millions of workers and families just 1 accident or illness away from 
        economic devastation;
Whereas approximately 5,200,000 workers are working in involuntary part-time 
        jobs when they would prefer full-time jobs;
Whereas millions of people working in hourly jobs have unstable, unpredictable 
        work schedules that do not give them the notice and input they need to 
        plan their lives and care for their families;
Whereas ``fissuring'' of the workplace, has resulted in more subcontracted, 
        temporary, and 1099 positions that lack benefits and workplace 
        protections, leading to greater economic precarity for low-wage workers;
Whereas according to the 2019 Federal Reserve report on the economic well-being 
        of United States households, 4 in 10 Americans say they are not able to 
        cover an unexpected expense of $400;
Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic may exacerbate poverty, especially for children, 
        and has exposed the shortcomings of the United States economic system 
        and social safety net;
Whereas if adequate measures are not taken to help Americans during the COVID-19 
        pandemic, the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University 
        projects that 21,000,000 more individuals will be in poverty, the 
        highest recorded rate of poverty since 1967;
Whereas according to the same Columbia University report, child poverty could 
        rise by 53 percent with Black and Latino children bearing a 
        disproportionate risk of falling into or deeper into poverty;
Whereas, as of May 21, 2020, 38,600,000 Americans have filed for unemployment 
        since mid-March because businesses have shut down or reduced their 
        payroll in response to the COVID-19 pandemic;
Whereas economic distress faced during the COVID-19 pandemic will 
        disproportionately impact children, women, working-class people, LGBTQ+ 
        communities, and Black and Brown communities;
Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to drastically increase poverty for 
        children and families;
Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting children's daily lives and there are 
        likely to be long-term and negative consequences for child development 
        and future success;
Whereas low-income children and families are often the targets of discrimination 
        based on their socioeconomic status as well as other social indicators 
        such as race or ethnicity, immigration status, ability, sex, sexual 
        orientation, and gender identity;
Whereas low-income families pay nearly 35 percent of their income on childcare 
        compared to middle-class families who pay roughly 14 percent of their 
        income on childcare;
Whereas poverty has lasting effects on a child's neural and functional brain 
        development and mental health;
Whereas poverty exacerbates the student achievement rate and schools remain 
        economically segregated;
Whereas child poverty costs the United States between $800,000,000,000 and 
        $1,100,000,000,000 annually;
Whereas protecting children against the lifelong consequences of poverty will 
        improve their life and reduce child poverty in future generations;
Whereas poverty exacerbates the student achievement rate and many schools remain 
        economically and racially segregated;
Whereas school districts with high poverty rates often receive the least amount 
        of funding;
Whereas the number of students experiencing poverty and homelessness has 
        increased by 11 percent;
Whereas LGBTQ+ students face poverty and homelessness because they are forced to 
        leave their homes because of their sexual orientation or gender 
        identity;
Whereas according to the Department of Education, 1,500,000 school-aged children 
        experienced homelessness during the 2017-2018 school year;
Whereas many low-income children and families do not receive the full value of 
        the current Child Tax Credit (CTC) as it leaves behind 23,000,000 
        children, including 50 percent of Black and Latino Children;
Whereas to reduce child poverty long term, children also need access to 
        affordable, comprehensive physical and behavioral health care, stable 
        shelter, consistent and nutritious meals, affordable high-quality early 
        development and learning opportunities, high performing schools and 
        colleges, and families and neighborhoods free from violence;
Whereas 29 percent of Americans skipped refilling their prescriptions because of 
        high costs, and 26 percent struggled to pay medical bills;
Whereas more than 500,000 people experience poverty and homelessness on any 
        given night, a number which has increased over the past 2 years;
Whereas the criminal-legal system contributes to a cycle of poverty by issuing 
        court-imposed fines and fees and threatening imprisonment for minor 
        infractions and civil violations;
Whereas according to the Prison Policy Initiative, families spend almost 
        $2,900,000,000 on exorbitant commissary costs and phone calls to support 
        their incarcerated loved ones;
Whereas formerly incarcerated people face barriers to employment, housing, and 
        social support programs after release and access to higher education, 
        adult education, and workforce development training opportunities after 
        release;
Whereas nearly 1 in 2 United States children have at least 1 parent with a 
        criminal record, and the barriers associated with a parent's record can 
        stunt a child's cognitive development, school performance, and 
        educational attainment;
Whereas children in immigrant families make up one-quarter of all children in 
        the United States, and are more likely to face systemic barriers to 
        accessing economic and nutrition supports that can aid their health and 
        development with data from the nationally representative Well-Being and 
        Basic Needs Survey (WBNS) showing that over 3 in 10 adults in low-income 
        immigrant families with children (31.5 percent) reported that they or a 
        family member were chilled from using benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, the 
        Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) or housing subsidies in 2019;
Whereas globally, people living in areas with high concentrations of poverty 
        will be disproportionately impacted by climate change;
Whereas voter suppression and lack of access to voting, including early voting 
        or alternative methods, leads to a disproportionate underrepresentation 
        of low-income people;
Whereas the United States should redistribute wealth and Federal assistance to 
        reduce poverty and increase economic opportunity;
Whereas an investment of $24,400,000,000 per year in K-12 schools and teachers 
        could start to boost academic performance among poor and struggling 
        children for about the same cost as a wall at the southern border of the 
        United States;
Whereas for every $1 invested in early childhood education, society would gain 
        $7.30 due to reduced poverty, lower incarceration rates, and better 
        health outcomes;
Whereas addressing climate change with a $200,000,000,000 per year investment in 
        a clean energy transition would reduce poverty by creating 2,700,000 new 
        jobs;
Whereas raising income tax rates by 1 percent in the top 2 income brackets would 
        raise about $125,000,000,000 over 10 years that can be used in 
        assistance for people living in poverty;
Whereas ending mass incarceration and instead adopting a Justice Reinvestment 
        model could save up to $4,000,000,000 that can be used to invest in 
        people living in poverty; and
Whereas simple trade-offs in our budget could fund critical, equitable policy 
        changes towards establishing a moral economy: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) acknowledges that budgets are moral documents that 
        reflect our values as a Nation;
            (2) acknowledges that child poverty robs our Nation of a 
        child's full potential and prevents millions of children from 
        reaching healthy development and an economically secure future;
            (3) supports passing policy provisions to reduce adult and 
        child poverty, racial disparities, income and wealth 
        inequality, and increase of opportunity for all;
            (4) supports policies to help reduce child poverty by 
        increasing wages for working families, improving tax credits to 
        ensure more low-income children and families benefit, boosting 
        nutrition and housing assistance, expanding subsidized jobs 
        with special attention to the needs of young adults 
        disconnected from school and work, and providing access to 
        quality, reliable childcare;
            (5) encourages the Federal Government, States, and cities 
        to enact robust antipoverty policies and to create new, 
        innovative solutions to eliminate poverty;
            (6) acknowledges that too few resources have been allocated 
        by the Federal Government to help end poverty for children and 
        families;
            (7) acknowledges that poverty was created and sustained by 
        humans, including policymakers, and that we can choose to end 
        it;
            (8) affirms that ending poverty, especially for our 
        Nation's children, is a moral and economic imperative;
            (9) affirms immigration status is not a means to deny basic 
        need programs;
            (10) supports increased funding for, as well as broadened 
        inclusivity and strengthening of basic need programs like the 
        supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP), temporary 
        assistance for needy families (TANF), the Child Tax Credit, the 
        Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), and housing assistance 
        especially during the COVID-19 pandemic;
            (11) supports comprehensive health care that should be 
        available and affordable to everyone in the United States 
        during the COVID-19 pandemic;
            (12) supports the strengthening of robust unemployment 
        insurance and paid leave policies to protect workers, 
        especially during the COVID-19 pandemic;
            (13) reaffirms that a criminal record is no longer a life 
        sentence to poverty for tens of millions of justice-involved 
        individuals and their families, and supports automatically 
        clearing criminal records once a person has completed the 
        sentence imposed; and
            (14) accepts climate change as an accelerator towards 
        poverty and a threat to shared prosperity that demands 
        investment in a clean energy transition to help create jobs.
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