Hearing of the House Ways and Means Committee - Opening Statement of Rep. Levin, Hearing on Republican Poverty Agenda

Hearing

(Remarks as delivered)

Mr. Chairman, reducing poverty is so vital a pursuit that the true test is action, not words -- especially when the action unmasks the rhetoric. There is a dramatic disconnect between the worthy goals of poverty reduction and the agenda Republicans have continually pursued in this and recent Congresses.

Eliminating food assistance for 13 million Americans, as suggested by the latest Republican budget, will not reduce poverty and hardship, it will increase it.

Cutting child care and other services funded by the Social Services Block Grant, which Republicans voted earlier this year to eliminate, will not increase opportunity, it will deny it to up to the 30 million Americans who now depend on this program.

Jeopardizing health care coverage for over 20 million Americans by constantly attempting to repeal heath reform will not help struggling families, it will hurt them.

Raising taxes on one and half million working families by eliminating their refundable tax credit as marked up by the Committee will not lift families up, it will push them down.

Cutting state funding for job training and placement will not help workers get good jobs, it will make it harder for them to stay competitive.

And slashing support for higher education, including Pell Grants, as required under the Republican budget, will not help people climb the economic ladder, it will rip that ladder away.

Our Republican colleagues seem to mistake cutting poverty programs with cutting poverty. They willfully ignore analyses that show our income security programs reduce poverty by over 40 percent.

Instead, the Republicans can accept some immediate steps proposed by Democrats -- which Republicans have previously blocked -- to support work, promote opportunity and reduce poverty:

Expand access to quality child care so that parents can go to work without worrying about the well-being of their children.

Improve pathways to education and training so that Americans can gain the skills needed to climb into the middle class.

Reform the parts of our tax code that continue to tax some working Americans deeper into poverty (childless workers with low wages).

Strengthen the TANF program so it does a better job of supporting families and rewarding work, instead of being unduly used for other unrelated purposes.

Ensure equal pay for women, who now earn an average of 78 cents on the dollar compared to men doing the same job.

And increase the minimum wage, which study after study has shown will reduce poverty.

The American people are yearning for real action on the challenges facing our nation, rather than glossy reports. And no one is more deserving of such a debate than the 47 million Americans who now struggle in poverty.

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