Barbara Lee Responds to the Census Bureau's New Report on Poverty in America

Barbara Lee Responds to the Census Bureau's New Report on Poverty in America

Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) responded to a report released by the Census Bureau today that approximately 37 million Americans are living below the poverty line, roughly the same amount as last year. Between 2000 and 2005 the number of people living in poverty increased by an average of more than one million per year.

"If the best thing that you can say about the Bush administration and the Republican Congress is that after five years, poverty isn't getting any worse, then I think it is clear we need a new direction," said Lee. "You don't have to look any further than New Orleans to understand that his administration and the Republican Congress have turned a blind eye to the poverty crisis in the United States. They have bent over backwards to give tax breaks to the wealthy; while over a million more people became uninsured, the minimum wage remains stagnant, and little has been done to address the endemic poverty that played a central role in the devastation of hurricanes Katrina and Rita."

Last year, Lee introduced a package of three bills designed to make addressing the poverty crisis a national priority. The first bill calls on the President to submit to Congress a plan to eradicate poverty, the second would roll back tax cuts to the wealthiest 5 percent of Americans to pay for poverty alleviation programs and the third would require Congress to review the potential poverty impact of its legislative activities before passing legislation.

http://lee.house.gov/index.cfm?ContentID=844&ParentID=0&SectionID=4&SectionTree=4&lnk=b&ItemID=839