On the recordJanuary 8, 2014
I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, five decades after President Johnson declared a war on poverty, economic inequality is pervasive in our society; and our work to reduce substantial disparities in income and wealth must continue. But we must not forget that the war on poverty has and will continue to improve the lives of millions of Americans. For who among us would tell a senior citizen that Medicare was a failure? Or tell the parents of a child who attends preschool under Head Start that that program doesn't work? Who among us would tell the families who have had access to desperately needed--and often lifesaving--health care as a result of Medicaid that that program was not worth the cost? Mr. Speaker, our work has not yet been completed. In December, we returned home to share the holiday season with our families, to gather at the dinner table, and to exchange gifts. However, millions of Americans were not as fortunate because Congress returned home without extending unemployment benefits to 1.3 million Americans, not including the millions of people who rely on them and their families. If unemployment benefits are not extended, approximately 5 million Americans are expected to lose emergency unemployment benefits over the next 12 months; and of that number, 383,000 are New Yorkers. Additionally, the lapse in unemployment benefits is likely to result in an increase in demand for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP.…
