AJR120: Joint Resolution Text

2013 Assembly JOINT RESOLUTION 120

March 19, 2014 - Introduced by Representatives Mason, Barnes, Riemer, Genrich, Johnson, Sargent, Sinicki, Shankland, Hintz, Ohnstad, Zamarripa, Berceau, C. Taylor, Wright, Hesselbein, Goyke, Kahl, Hulsey and Jorgensen, cosponsored by Senators Miller, Schultz, Wirch, Vinehout, L. Taylor and Harris. Referred to Committee on Rules.

AJR120,1,2 Relating to: commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the War on Poverty in the United States and Wisconsin.

AJR120,1,5 Whereas, fifty years ago President Lyndon B. Johnson declared: "This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America"; and

AJR120,1,7 Whereas, President Johnson stated: "Our aim is not only to relieve poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it"; and

AJR120,1,10 Whereas, President Johnson introduced an Omnibus Housing Act that provided $8 billion to build low-income housing and provided rent supplements for low and middle-income families; and

AJR120,1,12 Whereas, in the decade after the introduction of the War on Poverty, America's poverty levels dropped by 43 percent; and

AJR120,2,2 Whereas, during President Reagan's administration the most dramatic spending cuts targeted low-income housing subsidies, and in his first year in office President Reagan cut the budget for public housing in half and over the next few years sought to eliminate federal housing assistance to the poor altogether; and

AJR120,2,4 Whereas, funding for low-income housing as well as for job training and other programs have never returned to pre-Reagan levels; and

AJR120,2,6 Whereas, the national debate has focused on attacking the underfunded safety net programs, which has led to a stagnating effort to fight poverty; and

AJR120,2,9 Whereas, at the same time the global economy has undercut the ability of workers to obtain family-supporting jobs and the minimum wage has not kept up with inflation or productivity; and

AJR120,2,12 Whereas, our nation is preoccupied by partisanship rather than being dedicated to rebuilding an economy that will minimize poverty through investments in education, job creation, and programs that assist struggling families; and

AJR120,2,15 Whereas, in the words of President Johnson, the War on Poverty must include efforts toward "better schools, and better health, and better homes, and better training, and better job opportunities"; and

AJR120,2,18 Whereas, this loss of focus on programs that assist and empower the poor has resulted in unacceptable levels of poverty and inequality in the United States today; and

AJR120,2,21 Whereas, according to the Center for American Progress, today one in three people in the United States live on the brink of poverty, 70 percent of whom are women; and

AJR120,2,23 Whereas, this is the first post-recession recovery since 1970 where women have lost jobs while men have gained jobs; and

AJR120,3,3 Whereas, according to the 2014 Shriver Report, households headed by women have a 46.7 percent poverty rate and the poverty rate for children under 18 is 21.8 percent; and

AJR120,3,5 Whereas, 42 million women and the 28 million children who depend on them are living one economic incident away from poverty; and

AJR120,3,8 Whereas, according to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2011, approximately one-third of all Americans will spend at least two months in poverty in their lifetime; and

AJR120,3,11 Whereas, the Institute for Women's Policy Research found that the hardest-hit demographic since the beginning of the recession in 2007 has been single-mother families and families that are dependent on women's wages; and

AJR120,3,12 Whereas, the overall poverty rate in Wisconsin is 13.2 percent; and

AJR120,3,14 Whereas, today in Wisconsin the poverty rate for children is 18 percent and the poverty rate for women is 14 percent; and

AJR120,3,17 Whereas, the percentage of low-wage jobs in Wisconsin is 20.7 percent and more than half of people enrolled in Wisconsin support programs earn less than $10 an hour; and

AJR120,3,19 Whereas, the minimum wage in Wisconsin is $7.25 an hour, and a full-time minimum-wage worker earns an annual salary of just $15,080; and

AJR120,3,23 Whereas, although fifty years have passed since President Johnson declared the War on Poverty, our devotion to alleviating the effects of poverty as well as preventing its fundamental causes has wavered for far too long; now, therefore, be it

AJR120,4,2 Resolved by the assembly, the senate concurring, That the legislature honors President Johnson's commitment to the War on Poverty, and pledges a renewed call to action in pursuing the eradication of poverty in Wisconsin and the United States.

AJR120,4,3 (End)