Poverty

This is amount of people who have lost their Unemployment Insurance, even as they continue to look for work. Click here to learn more about our Faces of the Unemployed project. Through it you can help in the fight to Renew Unemployment Insurance.

Creating Good Jobs • Hunger in America • Affordable Housing • Fair Taxation • Education

There are many challenges we face as a country, but one that is a major threat to both our economy and our democracy is growing income inequality. The gap between the very wealthy and everyone else has grown dramatically over the last 30 years and income disparity is the worst it has been since 1928. Research has shown that it is harder to climb up the income ladder in the U.S. than in many parts of Europe. With the middle-class shrinking and families falling into poverty, too many feel that the American Dream is slipping away.

The American tradition has always been that anyone who works hard can succeed, yet too many hard-working Americans are locked into poverty because they lack the opportunities with which to build a successful future.  It is a national disgrace that more than 1 in 5 children live in poverty – that they lack the basic housing, nutrition and educational opportunities with which to reach the middle-class or beyond. 

Along with my colleagues in the Progressive Caucus and the Out of Poverty Caucus, I am working to solve this crisis and restore the American Dream   We need to create good jobs with living wages and benefits – no American who works should be paid poverty wages.  We need to expand the social safety net – providing nutrition, health care and affordable housing.  We need to make sure that we provide educational opportunities (link to education page) from early childhood through higher education (including vocational school and community colleges) and job training to help individuals succeed. And we need to make sure that critical efforts – from LIHEAP to housing – are adequately funded.

As co-chair of the House Democratic Caucus Seniors Task Force, I am also concerned about poverty among older Americans.   Without Social Security, 14 million seniors would be living below the poverty line.  Without Medicare and Medicaid's long-term care services, many would face medical bankruptcy.  That is why I oppose benefit cuts that would jeopardize their economic well-being.  It is also why I am a strong supporter of expanding Older American Act initiatives – from nutrition to housing – to help low-income seniors. 

We can afford to fund these initiatives by asking those who can afford to pay more – the top 2% -- to do so and by implementing fair tax policies.  What we cannot afford is poverty that saps our communities and prevents individuals from being productive contributors to our nation's economy.

Legislation I've Introduced

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Resolution – I introduced a resolution recognizing the critical importance of maintaining a strong SNAP (formerly called Food Stamps) program and the moral imperative of preventing hunger. That resolution has dozens of cosponsors, all of whom agree that a budget that cuts SNAP is not responsible or fair. 

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    repName John Smith  
    helpWithFedAgencyAddress Haverhill District Office
    1234 S. Courthouse
    Haverhill, CA 35602
     
    district 21st District of California  
    academyUSCitizenDate July 1, 2012  
    academyAgeDate July 1, 2012  
    academyApplicationDueDate October 20, 2012  
    repStateABBR AZ  
    repDistrict 1  
    repState Arizona  
    repDistrictText 1st  
    repPhoto  
    SponsoredBills Sponsored Bills  
    CoSponsoredBills Co-Sponsored Bills  
         
         
         
         
         
  • Office Locations

    Office Name Location Image Map URL
    Washington DC 2229 Rayburn House Office
    Washington, DC 20515
    Phone: (202) 333-4455
    Fax: (202) 333-5522
    http://goo.gl/maps/rqq9i
    Haverhill Office
    Serving Haverhill County
    1234 East. Courthouse
    Haverhill, CA 35602
    Phone: (202) 333-4455
    Fax: (202) 333-5522
    http://goo.gl/maps/BCEEO
    South Office
    10 Welcome Street
    Tuesdays & Thursdays
    9:00 AM- 11:00 AM
    http://goo.gl/maps/lodfk