Anti-Poverty Programs Help Lift Americans Out of Poverty
September 14 2018 - 11:12AM
Business Wire
The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) is
encouraged to see the reduction in U.S. poverty and attribute this
improvement to effective government programs like tax credits and
food assistance. According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau report,
released this week, the official poverty rate decreased from 12.7
percent in 2016 to 12.3 percent in 2017, now totaling 39.7 million
people.
“The decrease in poverty is commendable, and it reaffirms the
tremendous role of federal anti-poverty programs in ensuring
low-income Americans can obtain benefits that help meet basic human
needs,” said Diane Randall, Executive Secretary for FCNL. “Congress
must fully fund government assistance programs to ensure ongoing
progress in reducing poverty.”
The U.S. Census Bureau’s annual poverty data often mirror the
U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food insecurity figures. According
to the USDA, 40 million Americans, or 15 million U.S. households,
experienced food insecurity in 2017.
Though the overall poverty data are encouraging, poverty rates
among children remain alarming. More than one in six children (or
8.9 million) experienced poverty in 2017. For children under five
years old, nearly one in five experienced poverty.
The U.S. Census poverty data reflect the important role
assistance programs like refundable tax credits (such as the Earned
Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit) and the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) play in preventing people from
falling into poverty. The tax credits and SNAP lifted 8.3 million
and 3.4 million people, respectively, out of poverty in 2017.
Despite the programs’ success, lawmakers are currently debating
SNAP’s fate amid farm bill negotiations.
“For millions of Americans, cutting SNAP would mean the
difference between putting food on the table or not,” explained
Amelia Kegan, Legislative Director for Domestic Policy at FCNL.
“Congress must do more to lift more Americans out of poverty
especially in states like Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, New
Mexico, and West Virginia, where the poverty rates are consistently
near 20 percent.”
To learn more, please visit www.fcnl.org.
Founded in 1943 by members of the Religious
Society of Friends (Quakers), FCNL lobbies Congress and the
administration for U.S. policies that advance peace, justice, and
good government.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180914005367/en/
Friends Committee on National LegislationTimothy J.
McHugh, 202-903-2515tim@fcnl.org