Children, Women, and Families
Poverty in Metro Atlanta is all too real; nearly one-quarter of our community struggles just to feed their families, educate their children, and just make ends meet. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, almost 50 million Americans are living in poverty; of this number, almost 16 million are children.
As a member of the Ways and Means Human Resources Subcommittee, I fight to protect programs serving women, children in foster care, and struggling families. Now, more than ever we must ensure that the programs serving the disenfranchised, the forgotten, and the backbones of our community do not end up on the chopping block.
I champion legislation and initiatives which not only help families survive hard times and emerge from poverty, but become self-sufficient in the long-term. In addition to introducing the Look-Back Elimination Act, the National Parents Corps Act, and the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Assets for Independence Act, I also cosponsor
- The Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill to eliminate pay disparities between men and women;
- The Healthy Families Act, a bill to establish a national paid sick days standard; and
- The Family and Medical Leave Act, a bill to expand and improve FMLA benefits.
We cannot cut the programs which provide a key social net to struggling families. There must be adequate funding for domestic and global programs like Women Infants and Children, Child Survival and Health, Legal Services Corporation, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Community Development Block Grants, Economic Development Assistance programs, Adult Employment and Training Services, Title X Family Planning, International Family Planning, and Community Service Block Grants.
I am also a member of the following Caucuses:
- The Congressional Out of Poverty Caucus
- The Human Trafficking Caucus
- The Victim’s Rights Caucus
- The Missing and Exploited Children Caucus
- The Congressional Coalition on Adoption
- The Foster Care Caucus
More on Children, Women, and Families
"Equal Pay Day is a solemn reminder of the deep pay gaps that still exist between men and women in this nation. Women will have to work an additional 103 days a year before their earnings match the annual salary of a man in the same job. In 2016, most woman earn an average of 79 cents for every dollar a man makes in this country. That discrepancy costs them an average of $430,480 by the time they turn 65. For women of color, the damage is even deeper: African American women earn 60 cents and Latinas earn 55 cents for every dollar earned by white men.
"The Ebola crisis in Africa is devastating. Thousands of people have died, and thousands more are dying. As members of the world community, we cannot shut our doors and turn a blind eye to the suffering of others. Closing our borders will not cut our connection with the rest of humanity.
Washington, DC – Today, Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) joins millions of Americans in marking October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Today, Rep. Lewis attended a gathering at the White House in honor of the 20th anniversary of Americorps. Americorps is a volunteer service organization that engages more than 75,000 Americans to assist nonprofits, schools, public agencies, and community and faith-based groups across the country.
Since its inception in 1994, over 900,000 AmeriCorps members have given about 1.2 billion hours in service across America.
WASHINGTON - On Monday, the Georgia Department of Human Services received a letter from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) warning that due to its continued failure to meet federal requirements in the effective disbursement of supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits (SNAP), often referred to as "food stamps," it risks suffering a $15 million cut in federal funding, if the state does not become compliant within 30 days.
THE PROBLEM
Yesterday Rep. John Lewis attended a ceremony at the White House where President Barack Obama introduced his new initiative, My Brother's Keeper, a White House program serving young African American men and boys. Rep. Lewis made these comments:
WASHINGTON-Today Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), all Senate and House lead sponsors, discussed the Every Child Deserves a Family Act of 2013 at a news conference in the U.S.
Rep. John Lewis made this statement today in response the Senate’s inability to pass background check legislation:
“I am deeply dismayed by the inability of my colleagues in the Senate to pass a bipartisan proposal to require background checks before guns can be purchased in this country. We are standing in the wake of the Newtown Massacre and the everyday occurrence of gun violence in too many American cities. I ask my Senate colleagues when will enough finally be enough?
WASHINGTON—Rep. John Lewis recently wrote a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius highlighting the troubling prospect that federal support to safety-net hospitals might be reduced due to Republican governors’ refusal to expand Medicaid.
Passage Means Lewis SMART Teen Dating Bill Becomes Law