Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleague from New Mexico, Senator Heinrich, in introducing the Two-Generation Economic Empowerment Act. Our bipartisan bill would support an innovative approach to fighting poverty, one that focuses on addressing the needs of children and their parents or other primary caregiver-- two-generations together--in order to help break the cycle of intergenerational poverty.

Far too many American families are living below the poverty line, and the prolonged public health and economic crisis has exacerbated this problem. In 2020, when COVID-19 shut down our communities and economy, we unfortunately saw the first increase in poverty after 5 consecutive years of decline. Nearly 38 million people, or about 1 in 10 Americans, lived below the poverty line in 2020. Sadly, this includes nearly 11 million children, 35,000 of whom live in Maine. Despite recent progress, Maine's child poverty rate is still higher than all of the other New England States except Rhode Island.

While Federal programs have helped many of those living in poverty manage day-to-day hardships, they are falling short of breaking the cycle of poverty that has trapped too many families. As Tomas Philipson, an economist who served previously as the Acting Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, recently wrote in the Wall Street Journal, ``you don't cut poverty by increasing reliance on government. You do it by making them self-reliant.''

Our legislation marks an important first step toward reevaluating our approach to poverty-reducing programs and encouraging innovative, more effective uses of taxpayer dollars. We support an approach aimed at equipping both parents and their children with the tools they need to have opportunities to succeed and become self-sufficient. Oftentimes, Federal programs intended to help low-income individuals address challenges in silos, over looking the fact that the needs of family members are usually interconnected. Our bill seeks to change that. For example, helping a mother secure safe, high-quality childcare can have a positive impact on her ability to succeed in the workforce, as well as improving her child's ability to be ready for school. While that child receives care and an education, her mother can connect with skills training that could lead to a better paying job. Connecting various Federal programs that target both parents and children with supports aimed at increasing economic security, educational success, social capital, and health and well-being has the potential to lift whole families out of poverty.

Listen to the story of Kaytlyn Robbins, a mother of four who recently relocated to Windham, ME, from Aroostook County, where a two- generation, or whole family, approach to economic mobility helped her turn her life around. I had the privilege of meeting Kaytlyn in August 2020 at a roundtable hosted by the Aroostook County Community Action Program, ACAP.

When Kaytlyn first connected with ACAP, she was living in a homeless shelter, battling with substance use, and had just lost custody of her young daughter. With the assistance of ACAP's Whole Family Program, she worked with a career counselor to set new goals for herself and created a customized plan to refocus and transform her life.

ACAP established a work experience for Kaytlyn at a local recovery center in Caribou, which later became a full-time job. She was able to secure safe housing and was reunited with her daughter, whom the team assisted with childcare placement. Kaytlyn is now thriving and told me she is ``healing as a family unit.'' She is married and has a new baby who just turned 1. Professionally, she is now a registered recovery coach and recently started up a nonprofit dedicated to substance use disorder recovery coaching, peer groups, and community education. Kaytlyn and her family are just one example of how the two-generation approach can truly transform a family and put them on a path towards economic independence. With legislation like the Two-Generation Economic Empowerment Act, I am confident we can recreate thousands of success stories like Kaytlyn's and expand upon successful programming like that offered by ACAP.

Specifically, the bill we are introducing would codify an Interagency Council on Economic Mobility to better coordinate Federal efforts that are aimed at supporting vulnerable families and moving them out of poverty. The council would also make recommendations to Congress about ways to improve coordination of anti-poverty programs and to identify best practices. While I applaud ongoing efforts across the Federal Government to implement two-generation strategies, this council is needed to tackle logistical challenges, such as lack of coordination and communication across Agencies--and in some cases different entities within a single Department--and to improve the dissemination of information and best practices. In fact, a recent nonpartisan Government Accountability Office, GAO, report that Senator Heinrich and I requested confirmed that more coordination at the Federal level would provide the critical assistance and flexibility States and localities need to develop and implement two-gen policies to improve family well- being. This report from 2020 underscores why adoption of our legislation, particularly its emphasis on increasing the coordination of services, is critical to a robust two-gen approach.

Our bill would also authorize a performance pilot program that would provide additional flexibility for States and local governments to improve the administration of poverty-reducing programs. To-Generation Performance Partnerships would be piloted in five States, which would be able to blend similarly purposed funds across multiple Federal programs. Two-generation approaches are often created ``from the bottom up,'' meaning local organizations and States are at the forefront of responding to local or regional needs. The Federal Government should be empowering States and local organizations with the flexibility to be creative problem solvers. For this reason, our legislation would reduce duplicative reporting and application requirements that may deter local agencies and organizations from making the most effective use of taxpayer dollars. To ensure accountability, the bill would require that these pilot programs be targeted at specific, poverty-reducing outcomes.

With the Two-Generation Economic Empowerment Act, we have the chance to make a permanent difference in the lives of families and to break the multigenerational cycle of poverty. Just as a child's ZIP Code should not determine his or her future success, the current bureaucratic, siloed approach to aid should not stand in the way of helping families escape poverty. As Ascend at the Aspen Institute--a key partner on this legislation--recently observed, ``Today's economic and public health crisis demands the innovation, inclusiveness, collaboration, coordination, and flexibility that the 2Gen approach provides.''

In addition to strong support from national organizations like Ascend at the Aspen Institute and National Community Action Partnership, the Maine Community Action Partnership and the Maine Head Start Directors' Association have endorsed this important legislation. I very much appreciate their support.

I urge my colleagues to join in supporting this innovative approach to moving families out of poverty by giving them the tools they need to succeed. ______

By Mr. PADILLA (for himself, Mr. Menendez, and Mr. Warnock):

S. 3929. A bill to provide for disadvantaged business enterprise supportive services programs at modal administrations of the Department of Transportation, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

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