Tallahassee - Put Partisanship Aside to Address Poverty Challenges

Op-Ed

By Rep. Steve Southerland

When President Johnson launched America's War on Poverty in 1964, he did so with an expectation that all Americans could one day fulfill their "hopes for a fair chance to make good." Fifty years later, that chance remains out of reach for far too many vulnerable families here in North Florida and across America.

The facts are sobering. More than 46.5 million Americans live in poverty -- more than at any time in our nation's history. Nearly half of all households headed by a single mother sit below the poverty line. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 57,000 Leon County residents live in poverty. More than a quarter of the people living in Gadsden and Franklin counties face a similar struggle. Clearly, the ideas of the past are not working.

We need to recognize that we can't lift families out of poverty by simply increasing line items on a federal balance sheet. Bigger government is not yielding better results. In fact, it only makes it harder to climb off of government assistance. We must start looking at the root causes of poverty: the absence of strong, two-parent households, dwindling opportunities for a good education, and the inability to find a steady job. We need to cut through the partisan bickering to improve conditions for job growth and expand educational prospects for students eager to learn in a safe, productive environment.

My parents taught me long ago in the parlor of Southerland Family Funeral Homes that you can't begin to help vulnerable families until you're ready to climb down in their hurt with them. That's why public service has always been about more to me than faceless budget sheets. It's about putting partnerships above partisanship -- without sacrificing principles -- in an effort to find real solutions.

Nowhere is that kind of thinking more necessary than in determining how we combat poverty. As the chairman of the House Republicans' Anti-Poverty Initiative, I am taking a leading role in connecting Congress with community relief organizations and families in need across the country. In Tallahassee, I've visited The Shelter and the Renaissance Community Center to learn more about how dedicated volunteers on the ground are fighting poverty day in and day out. Regardless of how many committee hearings I attend, memos I read or lectures I hear, nothing can replace face-to-face interaction with those we aim to help.

The recently approved 2014 Farm Bill shows the good that can come out of both parties putting politics aside to get things done. As the lone member of Congress from Florida appointed to the conference committee tasked with ironing out the final version of the Farm Bill, I was particularly pleased that Republicans and Democrats came together to support a provision I introduced empowering vulnerable people with a renewed opportunity for earned success.

By including a 10-state pilot program for work, job training and community volunteerism for healthy, working-age recipients of nutrition assistance, we've put the program on the same proven path of success that Democratic President Bill Clinton and Republican Speaker Newt Gingrich charted during welfare reform in the 1990s.

When either side tries to tackle an issue as critical as fighting poverty, it's impossible to avoid honest disagreements over policy. However, I've worked hard to continue a conversation with members on the other side of the aisle who care about this issue as much as I do. By meeting with members such as Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, and Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., the co-chair of the House Hunger Caucus, we're better able to understand our differences and seek new opportunities to work together. It might not be a fix-all, but in today's Washington, it's certainly a start.

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