ADVISORY

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

SUBCOMMITTEE ON INCOME SECURITY AND FAMILY SUPPORT

McDermott Announces Hearing on Proposals for Reducing Poverty

Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA), Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on proposals for reducing poverty.  The hearing will take place on Thursday, April 26, 2007, at 1:00pm in room B-318 Rayburn House Office Building.

Witnesses will range from a Deputy Mayor of New York City, where new anti-poverty initiatives are underway, to leaders on the front lines in charitable organizations like Catholic Charities, to experts from social research organizations and think-tanks.

In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only.  However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.

BACKGROUND:

According to the most recent statistics (2005), there were 37 million Americans living in poverty, including nearly 13 million children.  After prior years of decline, the number and percentage of Americans in poverty began to climb after the year 2000, resulting in an additional 5.4 million Americans living below the poverty line.  Poor Americans suffer various hardships, including reduced access to economic and educational opportunities, substandard housing, inadequate diet, greater levels of crime victimization, and diminished health. 

Local governments, academic experts, religious leaders, and many others have suggested a variety of proposals to reduce poverty in America.  Many of these suggestions focus broadly on increasing the returns from work, expanding access to quality education, reaching out to disconnected populations, and strengthening existing safety net programs.  As a starting point, some have advocated the United States adopt a goal to significantly reduce poverty by a date certain. 

In announcing the hearing, Chairman McDermott stated, “We are beginning to hear a chorus of voices urging action on poverty.  Leaders in city government, social research and  charitable organizations have proposed specific steps they think will make a positive difference.  This hearing allows us the opportunity to hear, discuss and evaluate these proposals to reduce poverty in America.”

 FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

The hearing will focus on proposals to reduce poverty in United States.

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:

Please Note:  Any person(s) and/or organization(s) wishing to submit for the hearing record must follow the appropriate link on the hearing page of the Committee website and complete the informational forms.  From the Committee homepage, http://waysandmeans.house.gov, select “110th Congress” from the menu entitled, “Hearing Archives” (http://waysandmeans.house.gov/Hearings.asp?congress=18).  Select the hearing for which you would like to submit, and click on the link entitled, “Click here to provide a submission for the record.”  Once you have followed the online instructions, completing all informational forms and clicking “submit” on the final page, an email will be sent to the address which you supply confirming your interest in providing a submission for the record.  You MUST REPLY to the email and ATTACH your submission as a Word or WordPerfect document, in compliance with the formatting requirements listed below, by close of business May 10,  2007.  Finally, please note that due to the change in House mail policy, the U.S. Capitol Police will refuse sealed-package deliveries to all House Office Buildings.  For questions, or if you encounter technical problems, please call (202) 225-1721.

FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:

The Committee relies on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record. As always, submissions will be included in the record according to the discretion of the Committee.  The Committee will not alter the content of your submission, but we reserve the right to format it according to our guidelines.  Any submission provided to the Committee by a witness, any supplementary materials submitted for the printed record, and any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below.  Any submission or supplementary item not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

1.   All submissions and supplementary materials must be provided in Word or WordPerfect format and MUST NOT exceed a total of 10 pages, including attachments.  Witnesses and submitters are advised that the Committee relies on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.

2.  Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing.  Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased.  All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

3.  All submissions must include a list of all clients, persons, and/or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.  A supplemental sheet must accompany each submission listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers of each witness.

Note:  All Committee advisories and news releases are available on the World Wide Web at http://waysandmeans.house.gov.

The Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general (including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the Committee as noted above.

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