Barbara Lee: “I first thank Bishop Barber for that very powerful prayer for our Nation. Today, the Poor People's Campaign's California…”

“I first thank Bishop Barber for that very powerful prayer for our Nation. Today, the Poor People's Campaign's California Statewide Convening will uplift the launch of the California-led campaign for the Third Reconstruction resolution called Close the Wealth Gap, California. Extreme poverty affects over 20 million people in California. This is a moral disgrace. As written in House Resolution 438, the Third Reconstruction, we need the moral resolve to pass laws and policies that fully address interlocking injustices, which have only deepened during the COVID-19 pandemic. This country was founded on the moral commitment to ensure domestic tranquility, promote general welfare, and secure liberty and justice for all. It is time we realize a Third Reconstruction to build an equitable, thriving, and resilient economy from the bottom up. That is why I am calling on my colleagues to have the political will to make permanent the child tax credit. The most recent poverty data show that policy decisions like the temporary CTC, income support, and nutrition assistance cut the national child poverty rate nearly in half in 2021. This demonstrates that poverty is a policy choice and there is no excuse for poverty in America. Madam Speaker, everyone deserves to live a life free from socioeconomic policies that are punitive and destructive to their families. ____________________”