Have you ever needed a bridge over troubled waters?
I've been there.
At one point in my life, I needed public assistance and food stamps. It was invaluable and I'll always be grateful.
No parent should ever have to choose between keeping the lights on and feeding their children. Contrary to what Mitt Romney may think, sometimes asking for help so your children don’t go hungry in the dark is the most responsible decision that a parent can make.
Today far too many Americans are coming up short on their basic living expenses. The U.S. Census Bureau just reported that 46.2 million Americans are living in poverty, including more than 16 million children. In this, the wealthiest nation in the world, that’s a disgrace.
I've called for an urgent response to the nation's poverty crisis. And a crisis is what it is.
While the poverty rate for non-Hispanic whites stands at a too-high 9.8 percent, the rates for African Americans and Hispanics remain nearly three times as high -- at an astonishing 27.6 percent and 25.3 percent, respectively. Most of us in this nation hold racial equality as one of our highest ideals, but this recession has pushed that goal even farther away.
We need to act boldly and quickly to create jobs in this country, protect our safety net, and also target resources to communities of color who were hit hardest by the economic downturn. Now is not the time to turn our backs on struggling families just to preserve or even expand tax giveaways to millionaires and billionaires. We must come together to wage a war on poverty and end the war on the poor, who have already been devastated by multiple rounds of budget cuts.
Take a look at the maps USA Today created: http://www.usatoday.com/...
Comparing 2011 to 2010, USA Today noted, "Seventeen states saw poverty go up, while 14 saw increases in child poverty and more than half, 27 states, had increases in the number of unemployed people living in poverty last year." The publication also noted, "Fourteen states, including Arizona, California, Georgia, Oregon and Texas, had significant increases in the number of children living in poverty and the number of people living in deep poverty" (defined as making 50% below the poverty line, or $23,050 for a family of four.)
We cannot turn our backs on those in need.
President Obama took swift action to stop a depression, yet much work remains. I see far too many Americans in my district and across the country continuing to suffer joblessness and poverty because of Republican obstructionism. Republicans in Congress have continually blocked efforts to extend and expand vital safety net programs for millions of American children and families.
Please stand with those in need. Sign my petition to fight poverty by calling for Congress to invest in targeted programs that bring an end to the structural inequity that continues to hold our entire economy back. We call on Congress to:
1) Extend vital anti-poverty programs like the Earned Income and Child Tax Credits, along with benefits for the long-term unemployed and ensure access to important nutrition benefits like SNAP and WIC,
2) Invest in more affordable housing, targeting economic development to help the communities hardest hit by the downturn, and
3) Pass the American Jobs Act to boost hiring and employment.
We must make ending poverty a national priority. We must continue to oppose the Republican budget plan that would force us to destroy the safety net in order to help the wealthiest avoid doing their fair share.
Please sign my petition now.
Congresswoman Lee is a founding member and Co-Chair of the Out of Poverty Caucus, created in response to the rising rates of poverty caused by the Bush Administration’s failed economic policies. She authored H.R. 3300, the Half in Ten Act, to create an interagency taskforce to develop and put in place a national strategy to cut poverty in half.