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Schakowsky Response to Paul Ryan's Poverty Plan

July 24, 2014

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Paul Ryan, Chairman of the House Budget Committee and author of the draconian Republican budget, today offered his ideas for dealing with poverty in America.

Even before examining his new "anti-poverty" agenda, it's worth remembering the Ryan Budget which passed the House last April; that budget would cut SNAP (formerly called Food Stamps) by $137 billion, cut 300,000 students from the school lunch program, cut $732 billion from Medicaid, and drastically reduce federal spending on areas like medical research, education, and housing assistance.

One sure-fire way to reduce poverty -- raising the minimum wage -- didn't make it into Ryan's plan at all, not surprising since he has a record of voting against it. A full-time minimum wage worker with one dependent still lives below the poverty line Ryan claims he so desperately wants Americans to rise above.

The last time the federal minimum wage was increased was July 24, 2009 – exactly five years ago today. With that in mind, today I begin the Live the Wage challenge, a weeklong exercise in which members of Congress and others will live on the minimum wage equivalent. The point of the challenge is to raise awareness about how hard it is to get by on $7.25, and to urge policymakers to do the right thing and increase the federal minimum wage. I encourage Chairman Ryan to join in taking the Challenge.

Raising the minimum wage is one step to take to reduce poverty – one that Speaker Boehner could bring up for a vote right now. Doing so would be the clearest signal that Republicans – including Paul Ryan – don’t just want to talk about reducing poverty; they want to do something about it.

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