We are overwhelmed with facts and figures every day, so when presented with this important opportunity to discuss child poverty, I looked for data that might immediately crystallize the magnitude of the problem and urgent need for America to eliminate child poverty in the richest nation on earth.

In America, 46 of the 50 states have a population below 13 million people. And, in America today, 13 million children live in families with incomes below the federal poverty line. Yes, there are so many American children living in poverty that they could replace the entire population of a state 46 out of 50 times. And don’t make the mistake of believing the situation has improved along with the economy, because we’ve added 1.3 million kids to the poverty rolls since 2000.

When we allow children to live and grow up in poverty, we set them — and America — up for failure. We know that children who live in poverty are at greater risk of experiencing poor outcomes — greater risk of poor physical health, delayed cognitive development and poor academic achievement; and of entering the child welfare system, sometimes because of physical abuse or neglect in the home.

A report released earlier this year by the Center on American Progress Task Force on Poverty found that child poverty costs our nation about $500 billion per year from lost economic growth and health- and crime-related costs.  This study makes clear that eradicating child poverty in America is not only a moral imperative, but also a financial one.

Compared to other developed nations, the United States is failing to combat child poverty. America has one of the highest child poverty rates in the industrialized world, but our safety net programs simply fail to provide adequate support for these children or their families. Today, only 30 percent of families with incomes below the poverty level receive benefits from the federal welfare program.  

At a hearing held this spring in the Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, where I serve as chairman, several state social service directors noted that recent changes made in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 obstruct their ability to provide services that would otherwise help to lift struggling families with children out of poverty.

Regrettably, hard work does not always translate to economic mobility for everyone in our nation.  Despite the hard work of their parents, nearly one-third of all poor children live in a household where at least one adult is working full-time throughout the year and another third are living with an adult that works part-time.  

Legislative proposals being considered in Congress to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Plan (SCHIP), bolster the food stamp program, and provide greater opportunities for financial assistance for low-income students attending college are steps in the right direction, and the increase in the federal minimum wage will help too. But even taken together, we’re still falling short.

What can we do? A lot.

We can restore the recent cuts in federal funding to the child support enforcement program; improve the federal unemployment insurance program to provide more coverage to low-income families; improve the child welfare system; and, place a greater emphasis on reducing poverty in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. These are just some of the ways we can make a meaningful difference in the lives of children who mean so much to the future well being of America.

We can and should be outraged, but we have to channel that outrage into action if we are going to make a difference.
No child in America should go to bed hungry, or afraid for his or her safety. It is within our power to make a difference.
These kids deserve the chance to live up to their potential, but that will only happen if we live up to our responsibility to eradicate child poverty in America.


McDermott is chairman of the House Income Security and Family Support Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee.

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