As Congress and the Super Committee work to reduce our nation’s deficits, I urge you to create a circle of protection around programs for hungry and poor people in the United States and around the world. The numbers are staggering. Millions of families in the United States continue to feel the effects of the recession—nearly one in six people in our country are poor. Around the world, nearly 1 billion people are hungry, and one child dies every 3.6 seconds from poverty, hunger, and preventable diseases.
This isn’t the time for Congress to cut programs that provide vital assistance to those in need.
Programs for hungry and poor people make up only a fraction of the federal budget, but they have a tremendous impact. The Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit keep millions of families out of poverty, reward work, and promote economic mobility. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) has responded quickly and effectively to need, preventing an increase in the percentage of families struggling to put food on the table for three consecutive years.
International poverty-focused development assistance reduces the likelihood of conflict and strengthens our national security. Moreover, cuts to poverty-focused development assistance will restrict our ability to respond to humanitarian emergencies, such as the ongoing famine in the Horn of
Africa.
We must do all we can to reduce the budget deficit but not on the backs of the most vulnerable people. As you consider deficit-reduction proposals, I ask you to take a balanced and fair approach and consider all areas of the budget, including revenues. Please form a circle of protection around funding for hungry and poor people at home and abroad.
A higher percentage of the American population is receiving government benefits than ever before.
Yes, there have always been poor people that have needed our assistance, but what does it say about our economy that the number