ADVISORY

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

SUBCOMMITTEE ON INCOME SECURITY AND FAMILY SUPPORT

McDermott Announces Hearing on Establishing a Modern Poverty Measure

Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on a draft proposal to establish a modern measure of poverty in the United States.  The hearing will take place on Thursday, July 17, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. in B-318, Rayburn House Office Building.  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 to appear may submit a written statement for consideration by the Subcommittee and for inclusion in the record of the hearing.

BACKGROUND:

On August 1^st, 2007, the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support of the Committee on Ways and Means held a hearing on the current official poverty measure, which was devised in the mid 1960s and based on consumption patterns from the mid 1950s.  Testimony from that hearing and other statements on the topic highlight a broad consensus that the current poverty measure is critically important, but it needs to be significantly updated.  Modernizing the nation’s measurement of poverty is necessary to accurately depict how widely shared economic prosperity is in America, to appropriately target resources to the most disadvantaged, and to fully assess the impact of programs and policies designed to reduce poverty. 

In 1995, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) issued recommendations for an improved measure of poverty.  Many experts continue to believe these proposed revisions represent the best opportunity for a comprehensive update of the current poverty measure. 

Chairman McDermott has prepared and circulated draft legislation, the Measuring American Poverty Act, reflecting the NAS recommendations.  This newly proposed measure of poverty would continue to track significant deprivation, but it would be based on current consumption patterns for the most basic necessities.  Additionally, it would more fully account for income assistance from public programs and for necessary living expenses.  This new measure would augment, not replace, the current official poverty measurement.  It would therefore not have any direct impact on public program eligibility or on the distribution of Federal funds (any decision to base program eligibility or the distribution of funds on the new modern poverty measure would have to occur on a program-by-program basis).  Click here for the draft bill.

In announcing the hearing, Chairman McDermott stated: “If we want to make a measurable dent in poverty, we had better learn to measure it accurately.  My draft bill and this hearing are designed to push us in that direction.  No other critical statistic has fallen so far behind the times as the poverty measure.  It’s time to move forward with a measure that is realistic, non-ideological, and accurate.”

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

The hearing will consider proposals to improve and update the current poverty measure.

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 July 31, 2008.  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 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 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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