Washington, D.C. - This week, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, the Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, along with the Chairmen of the Subcommittees on Government Operations, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Economic and Consumer Policy, and Environment, held an in-depth, two-day series of four hearings to examine the negative effects of the Trump Administration’s proposals related to children’s poverty, housing, hunger, and health.
TAKEAWAYS
* Chairman Connolly criticized the Trump Administration’s proposal to change the calculation of the Official Poverty Measure, which would reduce eligibility for more than 80 anti-poverty programs such as nutrition and healthcare assistance.
* Witnesses testified that the Trump Administration’s plan to remove 3.1 million families from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will take food out of kids’ mouths, both at home and at school, and will result in food insecurity. Food insecurity leads to lower academic achievements in children and hurts their long-term physical and mental health.
* Witnesses testified that the Trump Administration’s plan to undercut the Mercury Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule was a product of corporate greed and is opposed by bipartisan lawmakers, industry groups, and the faith community, because the Obama-era regulation has numerous proven health benefits.
* Today, over 8.5 million children in America live in concentrated poverty. Pediatrician Dr. Megan Sandel testified that “A child’s zip code is more important for health than their genetic code." The Trump Administration’s proposal to gut federal fair housing accountability standards threatens to trap children in a cycle of concentrated poverty.
GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS WITNESSES
Panel One
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)
Member of Congress
Rep. Carol Miller (R-WV)
Member of Congress
Panel Two
Sister Simone Campbell
Executive Director
Network Lobby
Mr. Indi Dutta Gupta
Co-Executive Director, Center on Poverty
Georgetown Law
Ms. Amy Jo Hutchison
Organizer
Healthy Kids and Families Coalition, West Virginia
Mr. Rob Smith (Minority Witness)
Advisory Board Member
Legacy Republican Alliance
CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES WITNESSES
Ms. Ateira Griffin
Chief Executive Officer and Founder
BOND, Inc - Building Our Nation’s Daughters
Ms. Ellen Lee
Director of Community and Economic Development
City of New Orleans
Dr. Megan Sandel
Principal Investigator, Children’s Healthwatch, MD
Boston Medical Center
Mr. Jorge Andres Soto
Director of Public Policy
National Fair Housing Alliance
Mr. Michael Hendrix (Minority Witness)
Director, State and Local Policy
Manhattan Institute
ECONOMIC AND CONSUMER POLICY WITNESSES
Ms. Lisa Davis
Senior Vice President
No Kid Hungry Campaign, Share Our Strength
Mr. Zach Pethan
Principal, Jefferson Elementary
Sheboygan Area School District
Ms. Diane Sullivan
Advocate
Witnesses to Hunger
Ms. Tega Toney
Teacher, Oak Hill High School
Fayette County Schools
Mr. Sam Adolphsen (Minority Witness)
Policy Director
Foundation for Government Accountability
ENVIRONMENT WITNESSES
Rev. Mitchell C. Hescox
President/CEO
Evangelical Environmental Network
Ms. Katie Huffling
Executive Director
Alliance for Nurses for Healthy Environments
Ms. Heather McTeer Toney
National Field Director
Moms Clean Air Force
Ms. Mandy M. Gunasekara (Minority Witness)
Founder, Energy 45
Senior Fellow to Texas Public Policy Life: Powered Project
VIDEOS
Watch Chairman Connolly’s opening statement at Government Operations.
Watch Chairwoman Maloney’s opening statement at Government Operations.
Watch Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s testimony.
Watch Ms. Ami Jo Hutchison’s testimony.
Watch Chairman Raskin’s opening statement at Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
Watch Chairwoman Maloney’s opening statement at Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
Watch Chairman Krishnamoorthi’s opening statement at Economic and Consumer Policy.
Watch Chairwoman Maloney’s opening statement at Economic and Consumer Policy.
Watch Chairman Krishnamoorthi’s question line.
Watch Chairman Rouda’s opening statement at Environment Subcommittee hearing.
Watch Chairwoman Maloney’s opening statement at Environment Subcommittee hearing.
Watch Chairman Rouda’s question line.
