By David Eldridge

 

 

Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., said Tuesday the Congressional Black Caucus is open to working with House Budget Committee Chairman Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., on bipartisan legislative action on reducing poverty.

 

Ryan, who came under fire from black leaders after recent comments about inner-city unemployment, will hold a hearing next week examining the results of the War on Poverty, and has also accepted an invitation to meet with the CBC.

 

Moore said the caucus sees the Ryan meeting as an opportunity.

 

“Congressman Ryan is a nice guy,” she told a group of reporters in a press conference call Tuesday. “And — and, as such, you know, he has tried to frame the comments that he made about inner-city folks as just sort of inarticulate ways of — of communicating.

 

“We’re gonna challenge his assumptions about that, and really raise with him a couple of very specific proposals,” she said.

 

“Paul Ryan wants to talk about poverty, but he is … hamstrung by a caucus that is not willing to have these conversations. And so he’s sort of walking a tightrope,” she said.

 

Correction 3:03 p.m.

 

An earlier version of this post incorrectly reported that Rep. Ryan asked to meet with the CBC. He was invited to meet with the group.

 

 

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