Congressman Danny K. Davis Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the War on Poverty
January 8, 2014

I wish to take a moment to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the War on Poverty declared by President Lyndon B. Johnson, a historic moment in our nation's history when we affirmed our national priority to support those in need. President Johnson recognized that the government of the richest nation on earth should not stand by as millions of impoverished Americans suffer to meet their basic human needs, such as adequate food and housing.

One of the reasons I got involved in public office was because of the War on Poverty and the programs it created.  The War on Poverty called for citizen involvement and participation to strengthen America.  As I got more involved and engaged in these programs, I became more aware of the difficulties faced by individuals, families, and communities.  As I got more involved and engaged in these programs, I became interested in public office to advance the War on Poverty.  

The War on Poverty has improved the lives of millions of low-income Americans through the creation of critical safety net programs - Medicare, Medicaid, increased Social Security benefits, Head Start, investment in K-12 education, federal college aid and loans, a permanent food stamps program, and expanded housing assistance for the low-income.  In addition to these initial programs, the War on Poverty has expanded over time to include other programs that are fundamental to supporting low-income families, including the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit, the Women Infants and Children program, and the Children's Health Insurance Program.

These programs have significantly lessened poverty over the past five decades.  Recent research by Columbia University demonstrates that poverty has declined between 1967 and 2012, from 26% to 16%.  Infant mortality and child malnutrition have decreased due to the War on Poverty programs.  Research further shows that children who had access to food stamps in early childhood and whose mothers used food stamps during pregnancy had better health outcomes and higher rates of high school graduation.

Although our nation has made progress in the last 50 years, poverty remains high and the War on Poverty must remain a national priority. It is unacceptable that the poverty rate for the United States is much higher than those of other Western nations - 17% compared to 5%-9% for many similarly-wealthy countries. It is unacceptable that 49.7 million people - including 13 million children - were poor in 2012. It is unacceptable that almost 60% of poor children have families that experience at least one serious hardship a year, such as lack of food, overcrowded housing, being behind on housing payments, or having utilities cut off.  It is unacceptable that racial disparities remain in the experience of poverty, with child poverty for African Americans being 29.2% in 2012 compared to 9% for their white peers.

The War on Poverty created a social safety net to provide the poorest Americans with their basic needs; however, our programs need to be more generous, easier to access, and expanded.  In these difficult economic times, we should strengthen the programs needed by our most-vulnerable citizens, not undermine them.  As our nation recovers from the recession and parents are barely able to put food on their children's plates, food assistance should not be reduced.  

Fifty years later, the economic disparity between the richest and poorest Americans is at its worst. On average, CEOs make 273 times more than the average worker, yet the minimum wage remains at a stagnant $7.25 per hour. As we see the rich get richer, minimum wage workers can barely afford food and housing.  We must increase the minimum wage and support job creation.

Higher Education, the key to economic opportunity in our skilled labor force, is out of reach for minimum wage workers. The War on Poverty created Pell Grants to put higher education within the reach for poor youth, covering almost 75% of the cost of college. Today, due to the rising cost of college, Pell grants cover only one-third of the total cost of college at a four year public university. We must expand and strengthen Pell grants.

In recent days, Republican statements calling the War on Poverty a failure have surprised me. Would they call Social Security a failure? Medicare? These programs have dramatically reduced poverty among the elderly.  While considerable work remains to bring the most underprivileged Americans out of poverty, the War on Poverty is a fundamental success of our nation on which we should build, not dismantle.  Commitment to anti-poverty programs used to be a bipartisan affair - with President Richard Nixon expanding and supporting many of Johnson's War on Poverty initiatives. I call on my colleagues to return to this bipartisan cooperation to expand economic opportunities for all Americans, not just the most secure.  We should honor the anniversary of the War on Poverty by joining together to extend unemployment assistance for millions of long-term unemployed struggling to find jobs as our nation gradually recovers from one of the worst economic recessions in its history.