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Fighting Poverty—Strengthening Families
March 4, 2005
Fighting Poverty—Strengthening Families
By Senator Rick Santorum, Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference
The ladder of success must reach down to the most vulnerable in our society. Many of our neighbors continue to be overwhelmed by social breakdown, economic decline, and educational failure. This crisis demands a national response that encourages local community reform efforts. Senate Republicans unveiled a plan this week that establishes a vision for alleviating poverty—one that brings a decisive legislative voice to the problem of urban poverty and makes government a partner in the fight to reduce poverty in America.
Responses to economic decline and social breakdown have fallen into one of two categories. At one extreme are those that advocate broad government intervention, which is characterized by over-arching, bureaucratic social programs that leave little room for the intangibles of human experience, such as compassion, commitment, spirituality, and hope. These intangibles, however, are critical components of any effort to rise above poverty, just ask community and faith-based organizations. At the other extreme are those responses that advocate the withdrawal of any governmental role and instead place the responsibility entirely on individuals and society to lift people out of poverty and despair.
There is a better solution—one that acknowledges a role for government, but also seeks to strengthen community and faith-based organizations and the family. Those who are on the front lines—in and of their communities—should be serving local communities and families in need, not Washington. Therefore, Senate Republicans will work to pass legislation that empowers organizations like Nueva Esperanza, the Salvation Army, and local churches that are already working to strengthen families and fight poverty.
Thousands of charities, families, and volunteer groups have served as catalysts for renewal and transformation in Pennsylvania’s impoverished communities. However, several regulatory and legal barriers between these institutions and those individuals in need remain. Faith-based organizations must be able to compete on a level playing field for federal grants. Faith-based organizations are many times the best-equipped institution in their community to improve the lives of those in need, but have not been able to receive any help from the government. To further break down these barriers, I sponsored the Charity Aid, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act, which encourages Americans to give more to charitable organizations so they can better assist those in need. The CARE Act includes a provision that provides tax incentives for an estimated $2 billion worth of food donations from farmers, restaurants, and corporations to help those in need.
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To further address poverty concerns, Congress must restore the shattered economies of the poor and improve living standards of inner-city neighborhoods and poor rural communities. Work is a positive way to move the nearly two million families currently on welfare out of poverty. For that reason, I have sponsored the Marriage, Opportunity, Relief, and Empowerment (MORE) Act, which provides meaningful welfare reform that strengthens work requirements for those on welfare, and promotes the importance of marriage and fatherhood in reducing poverty and improving the well-being of children. Also included in the MORE Act is the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), which helps welfare recipients find jobs that help in the transition from dependence to self-sufficiency.
In many of Pennsylvania’s low-and moderate-income neighborhoods, the cost of developing housing exceeds the market value of the property, causing developers to look elsewhere. In an effort to encourage developers who are not as likely to invest in new housing development in these neighborhoods, I have proposed the Community Development Homeownership Tax Credit, which will bridge the gap between development costs and market value to enable the development of new or refurbished homes in several Pennsylvania cities and towns.
The new poverty alleviation agenda also seeks to expand ownership in our society to allow individuals to make their own decisions and improve their lives, their neighborhoods, and their communities. Specifically, through Individual Development Accounts (IDAs)—one of the most promising tools that enables low-income and low-wealth American families to save and acquire assets—low-income individuals will receive a match for their own savings. IDAs benefit working poor Pennsylvanians who have decided to save monthly in order to buy their first home, pay for post-secondary education, or start a small business.
To further ease the burden on families, I propose making marriage penalty relief and the child tax credit permanent. Together these provisions have already provided tax relief to millions of families, and recognize that children living in married households are far less likely to live in poverty.
Senate Republicans anti-poverty alleviation package has the potential to be an effective voice for the impoverished. And government has the capacity to partner with organizations in their efforts to empower those in need to climb out of poverty. Government cannot hug a child or dry a tear, but they can support those who do.
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