WASHINGTON - On the same day the Census Bureau released statistics showing 4.3 million Americans have fallen into poverty since President Bush took office, Reps. Charles B. Rangel, D-NY, and Benjamin L. Cardin, D-MD, issued a report showing a decline in the real value of four important Federal programs designed to help people avert or escape poverty. The analysis illustrates that annual funding levels for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program, the Child Care and Development Block Grant, the Social Services Block Grant, and job training through the Workforce Investment Act have declined in real terms (adjusting for inflation) by $1.7 billion since President Bush took office.

"Under President Bush, we have had three consecutive years of rising poverty in America. The Bush Administration's response is to punish the poor. Many poverty programs aren’t even keeping pace with inflation, nor the increasing number of poor Americans. The Republicans refuse to allow poor people even a chance to make a better life for their kids. Meanwhile, at least every millionaire got a $100,000 tax break paid for with record deficits. That's not compassionate or conservative, it's just plain cruel," declared Rep. Rangel, the leading Democrat on the Committee on Ways and Means.

Rep. Cardin, the leading Democrat on the Ways and Means subcommittee that oversees poverty-related programs said, "Rising poverty, stagnant incomes, and a growing number of Americans without health insurance is a trifecta of bad news for the American people. I hope the new Census report acts as a wake-up call for President Bush and the Congress. It’s past time to put reducing poverty back at the top of our nation’s agenda. At a bare minimum, we cannot afford to allow the value of poverty-related programs to continually decline. All too often it seems there’s enough money in the budget for everything and anything except helping those families struggling to make ends meet."

Unlike in previous years, the bad news about poverty was released in the same report as the bad news about rising numbers of Americans lacking health insurance, and the information on the uninsured included misleading statements designed to mask the fact that the number and percentage of Americans without health insurance is on the rise. The data shows that the number of Americans without health insurance grew by 1.4 million in 2003. Under the Bush Administration, 5.2 million people have lost health insurance.

"It’s fishy that the Bush Administration would break with the past and release these estimates at a time when Congress is out of town and most Americans are not watching for news from Washington. The confusing format and the combining of the reports on poverty and the uninsured seem calculated to minimize any chance people will see these key indicators of Bush’s failed economic policies," said Rep. Rangel. "As more jobs are shipped overseas, American families are both losing health insurance and income. President Bush’s so-called solutions would not help the uninsured and would undermine the health coverage that we do have."

Attached is the Ways and Means Democrats’ report on funding levels for several federal programs related to poverty.

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