October 31, 2005
“Dealing with poverty is an issue of values and priorities,” said Lee. “Prioritizing massive tax breaks to the wealthiest few over addressing the fact that almost 40 million Americans are living in poverty doesn’t square with our nation’s values.”
Lee’s measure envisions repealing the tax cuts enacted since 2001 for the wealthiest five percent of Americans and investing the funds in programs designed to relieve the growing burden on the working poor and to alleviate poverty in America.
A recent report from the U.S. Census Bureau found that there were 37,000,000 people living in poverty in the United States in 2004, an increase of 5,400,000 since President Bush took office. The Census Bureau defines as poverty as annual income of $14,680 for a family of three. More than 15 million are living in extreme poverty, which is defined as less than half of poverty income.
From 2002 through 2005, the tax cuts for the wealthiest five percent of Americans cost an estimated $352,600,000,000 in Federal revenue, the equivalent of annual Head Start enrollment costs for 11,675,496 students, annual health insurance coverage for 20,020,440 uninsured Americans or annual college tuition for 17,093,271 university students for the same three year period.
Lee’s legislation is the second measure she has introduced to highlight the issue of poverty in the wake of hurricane Katrina. In September, she introduced a bill calling on the Bush administration to create a poverty eradication plan.
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Barbara Lee Proposes Repealing Tax Cuts for Wealthiest to Fund Poverty Alleviation Efforts
(Washington, DC) – In an ongoing effort to focus Congressional attention on the crisis of poverty in the United States exposed by hurricane Katrina, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) introduced legislation to repeal President Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and dedicate the funds to alleviating poverty.“Dealing with poverty is an issue of values and priorities,” said Lee. “Prioritizing massive tax breaks to the wealthiest few over addressing the fact that almost 40 million Americans are living in poverty doesn’t square with our nation’s values.”
Lee’s measure envisions repealing the tax cuts enacted since 2001 for the wealthiest five percent of Americans and investing the funds in programs designed to relieve the growing burden on the working poor and to alleviate poverty in America.
A recent report from the U.S. Census Bureau found that there were 37,000,000 people living in poverty in the United States in 2004, an increase of 5,400,000 since President Bush took office. The Census Bureau defines as poverty as annual income of $14,680 for a family of three. More than 15 million are living in extreme poverty, which is defined as less than half of poverty income.
From 2002 through 2005, the tax cuts for the wealthiest five percent of Americans cost an estimated $352,600,000,000 in Federal revenue, the equivalent of annual Head Start enrollment costs for 11,675,496 students, annual health insurance coverage for 20,020,440 uninsured Americans or annual college tuition for 17,093,271 university students for the same three year period.
Lee’s legislation is the second measure she has introduced to highlight the issue of poverty in the wake of hurricane Katrina. In September, she introduced a bill calling on the Bush administration to create a poverty eradication plan.