Van Hollen Opening Statement: A Progress Report on the War on Poverty

Statement

Today Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen, Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, made opening remarks at the House Budget Committee hearing on A Progress Report on the War on Poverty: Expanding Economic Opportunity. Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery:

"Mr. Chairman, let's start with a point of agreement. The best anti-poverty measure is a job -- a job that provides a living wage. In a minute, I will suggest some specific actions we can take immediately to boost job and wage growth.

"But first, a word about existing programs that provide greater economic security. It is important to accurately diagnose the challenge. Almost 50 million Americans are in poverty today -- that is unacceptable. But that is no excuse for dismantling programs that have kept tens of millions more out of poverty.

"The report this month from the Council of Economic Advisors finds that existing programs that provide greater economic security have cut the poverty rate by nearly 40 percent from 1967 to 2012. It found that without these programs, an additional 45 million Americans would be in poverty in 2012. In other words, without these programs, we would have almost twice as many Americans in poverty. So we can agree that we need to do better, but no one should attempt to dismantle various economic security programs under the pretext that they haven't helped keep people out of poverty.

"So, Mr. Chairman, if you are genuinely interested in enacting policies that will help more Americans climb out of poverty, you will find a willing partner in Democrats. We welcome any new ideas that work. As you know, good ideas like allowing a longer glide path for the phase out of the Earned Income Tax Credit will cost money, not save it. So we look forward to seeing how your upcoming budget reflects your new ideas.

"What we will not accept are Trojan Horse policies that, under the guise of helping people climb out of poverty, actually shred the social safety net and push more people into poverty. After all, last year's Republican budget would have slashed important safety net programs while providing windfall tax breaks to the very wealthy.

"Now, as I said at the outset, the best anti-poverty program is a good job with a livable wage.

"As we continue to emerge from the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression, the good news is that more than 8.2 million jobs have been created over the last 46 months. The bad news is that unemployment remains stubbornly high and about three Americans are searching for every one open job.

"Meanwhile, over the last three decades, a very disturbing pattern has emerged. Since 1980, our productivity is up by over 90 percent and our economy has more than doubled in size. But the real income of a typical family has grown by only 9 percent, while the overwhelming benefits of increased output have flowed to fewer and fewer Americans.

"So let's not just talk about these issues -- let's take immediate action.

"Job number one is to promote policies to boost economic growth, jobs, and wages. That is why the President and Democrats in Congress have called for a major investment in our national infrastructure -- to modernize the backbone of our economy, to spur innovation, to keep America at the cutting edge of global competition, and, yes, to put more Americans back to work with good paying jobs. We still haven't even gotten a vote on that plan.

"Americans should also be able to keep more of the fruits of their labor. Mr. Chairman, if you want to help over 28 million hard working Americans and immediately start lifting 5 million people out of poverty, join us in supporting an increase in the minimum wage to $10.10 hour. Right now -- at $7.25 -- it is lower, in real terms, than when Harry Truman was president. It is disgraceful that someone can work full-time, year-round at the current minimum wage and still fall below federal poverty line.

"Finally, let's immediately extend emergency unemployment benefits to help the 1.6 million long-term unemployed Americans. These men and women lost their jobs through no fault of their own and are continuing to search for work, but have been cut off the unemployment rolls. Thousands more are joining them each week. The Congressional Budget Office has told us that helping these struggling families helps all of us by adding 200,000 jobs to the economy.

"Those are some things we can do right now to boost jobs and wages. Let's get to work. And if you believe, as we do, that a job at a decent wage is the best anti-poverty program, for goodness sakes, at least allow this House to vote on these proposals."

Source