Majority Whip Clyburn Applauds House Passage of Comprehensive Anti-poverty Bill

Statement

Today, U.S. House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn applauded the House passage of H.R. 6531, the Targeting Resources to Communities in Need Act, bipartisan, bicameral legislation he introduced with Congressman Hal Rogers (R-KY) to direct federal funding to high-poverty communities. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced a companion bill in the Senate. The bill builds on Congressman Clyburn's 10-20-30 formula to ensure resources distributed through programs across the federal government reach communities that need them the most.

"We've made significant progress in the nearly 60 years since President Lyndon B. Johnson declared war on poverty. It is time for us to take this fight to the next level," said Majority Whip Clyburn. "Expanding my 10-20-30 targeted funding approach to all federal agencies will extend a much-needed helping hand to American families struggling to make ends meet in communities struggling to thrive. I thank Rep. Rogers and Senators Booker and Portman for their efforts to advance this legislation."

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, persistent poverty counties are counties where at least 20 percent of the population have remained at or below the poverty level for the last 30 years. First applied to three programs in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act by Congressman Clyburn, the 10-20-30 formula requires at least 10 percent of federal funds for a particular federal program go to these persistent poverty counties. With bipartisan support, the formula has since been expanded to apply to nearly 20 additional accounts, and its targeted funding approach has been applied to others through carve-outs for persistent poverty counties and high-poverty census tracts.

The Targeting Resources to Communities in Need Act builds on this progress by directing the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to work with federal agencies to apply targeted funding measures to programs throughout the government. Congress will oversee their progress by requiring OMB to submit annual reports detailing the distribution of targeted funding and its impact in addressing poverty. Notably, this bipartisan legislation does not increase federal spending--it simply targets allocated federal resources to areas where they are most needed to make America's greatness more accessible and affordable in more communities.

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