Sheila Jackson Lee: “Today I rise in support of House Resolution 1024 ``Expressing support for designation of January as poverty in America…”

“Today I rise in support of House Resolution 1024 ``Expressing support for designation of January as poverty in America awareness month.'' This resolution seeks to designate the month of January as an official ``Poverty in America Awareness Month,'' and also expresses the sentiments of the House of Representatives that eradicating poverty in the United States should be the goal of all American citizens--especially those in government positions. Over the last several decades the numbers of people living in poverty in the United States has steadily increased to a high point in 2008 of over 39 million Americans living below the Federal poverty line. This is a particularly important issue for the people living in my home district in Houston, Texas where the number of residents with income below the poverty level in 2007 was 20.7 percent, which is several percentage points higher than the Texas State average of 16.3 percent. These problems have been further exacerbated by the recent economic downturn which has pushed many American families to a financial breaking point. Over the past 10 years much of the progress that was made during the 1990s was reversed as the overall poverty rate increased by 1.9 percent. As the Chairwoman of the Congressional Children's Caucus I also understand the severe impact that poverty can have on children in the United States. In fact, 14 million of the 39 million Americans currently living below the poverty line are children.”