AVAILABLE FOR COMMENT: CAP Experts on The Budget Committee’s Hearing on the War on Poverty

Washington, D.C. – Tomorrow, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) is convening a hearing “A Progress Report on the War on Poverty: Lessons from the Frontlines.”  The hearing comes as a follow up to Rep. Ryan’s “listening tour” with low-income families over the past few months, during which Ryan used a fake story to attack the school lunch program, was conspicuously absent in soup kitchens and shelters in his own district, and blamed poverty on “inner-city” men. In anticipation of the hearing, poverty experts from the Center for American Progress and people with first-hand experiences related to the War on Poverty are available to comment.

CAP experts:

• Melissa Boteach, Vice President, Half in Ten and Poverty and Prosperity Program
• Rebecca Vallas, Associate Director, Poverty to Prosperity Program
• Erik Stegman, Associate Director, Half in Ten
• Greg Kaufmann, Senior Fellow

First-hand accounts:

• Kim Robbins, Fairbury, Nebraska (page 38)
• Sarah Gatrell, Vinton Virginia (page 40)
• Amy Marchand, East Providence, Rhode Island (page 48)
• Amy Treptow, Reedsburg, Wisconsin

These contributors are part of the Our American Story community, a network of low-income families, service providers, and other community leaders working to expand economic opportunity for all through the power of sharing personal experiences.

Related resources:

• Paul Ryan Blames Poverty On Lazy ‘Inner City’ Men (ThinkProgress)
• Personal Stories on the War on Poverty (Half in Ten)
• The Safety Net Is Good Economic Policy (CAP)

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