Bill Lee: “Several years ago, we established the Whip's Task Force on Poverty, Inequality, and Opportunity. For so many years, I…”

“Several years ago, we established the Whip's Task Force on Poverty, Inequality, and Opportunity. For so many years, I wanted to see our caucus talk about more issues relating to low- income and working people and people of color. I really appreciate our whip, Steny Hoyer, and our leader, Nancy Pelosi, for rallying around this concept of looking around all these issues of poverty, inequality, and opportunity. We put together this task force to begin to look at the policies that not only we need to support that are lifting people out of poverty, but what we need to do to fight against some of the policies and funding priorities that would lead more people into the ranks of the poor. This task force now has over 100 people. We have meetings with experts, with organizations that are doing wonderful work throughout the country in communities of color and low-income communities and the Black communities, really demonstrating that there are some grassroots efforts and community efforts that, while here in Congress we haven't been able to change many policies, at the grassroots levels and the community level there are some wonderful people doing some great things to help lift people out of poverty and into the middle class.…”