On the recordJanuary 8, 2014
On this day in 1964, President Johnson's called on our nation to launch an `unconditional war on poverty'. Exactly 50 years later, we can state with confidence two truths. The programs resulting from Johnson's War on Poverty have improved the lives of Americans of all ages in innumerable ways. True, the war on poverty has not been won. I submit that now is NOT the time to end our battle. Today, there are nearly 50 million Americans grappling with the economic and social hardships of living below the poverty line, including 13.4 million children. In my district in Southwest Georgia alone, more than one in four people and almost one of every two children fall below the poverty line. And yet without programs such as unemployment insurance, Rural Tax Credits, school lunch programs, affordable housing, Medicare, Medicaid, Job Corps, SNAP, TRIO, and others, where would we be? In Georgia alone: Over 29,000 children from low-income families would be without critical early stage developmental resources provided by Head Start and Early Head Start. Over 1.8 million low-income individuals and families would lose the ability to choose healthy food options through SNAP for themselves and their children. And so on. America's War on Poverty has gone beyond just helping reduce our poverty rate. It has educated, fed, housed, and trained millions of Americans, giving them hope and preparing them for a more successful tomorrow.…
