ADVISORY

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

SUBCOMMITTEE ON INCOME SECURITY AND FAMILY SUPPORT

McDermott Announces Hearing on the “Safety Net’s” Response to the Recession

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 to evaluate the response of “safety net” programs during the recession.  The hearing will take place on Thursday, October 8, 2009, 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:

Since the beginning of the recession in December of 2007, the U.S. economy has lost nearly seven million jobs.  As a result, over 26 million workers are either unemployed or under-employed, with five million workers jobless for over six months. 

A number of programs are aimed at responding to joblessness and poverty, including unemployment insurance, the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program or food stamps and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.  Many of these “safety net” programs were temporarily expanded and/or augmented by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  For example, the Recovery Act increased the weekly dollar amount and total duration of unemployment benefits, increased the benefit amount for food stamps and provided States with additional TANF funding.

In announcing the hearing, Chairman McDermott stated, “Even as our economy shows signs of turning the corner, we know that many of our fellow citizens are hurting.  Recovery will take time, and that means we need a good safety net now more than ever.  We should continue to build on the historic steps in the Recovery Act to ensure basic assistance for all those who are struggling to make ends meet.”

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:  

The hearing will focus on the response of safety net programs to the recession.

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 “Committee Hearings”.  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, complete all informational forms and click “submit” on the final page. ATTACH your submission as a Word or WordPerfect document, in compliance with the formatting requirements listed below, by close of business Thursday, October 22, 2009.  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.

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.

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