BEFORE THE JOINT ECONOMIC COMMITTEE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES - Senate

S. HRG. 111¨C536

INCOME, POVERTY, AND HEALTH CARE

COVERAGE: ASSESSING KEY CENSUS INDICATORS

OF FAMILY WELL-BEING IN 2008

HEARING

BEFORE THE

JOINT ECONOMIC COMMITTEE

CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES

ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

SEPTEMBER 10, 2009

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JOINT ECONOMIC COMMITTEE

[Created pursuant to Sec. 5(a) of Public Law 304, 79th Congress]

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York, Chair

MAURICE D. HINCHEY, New York

BARON P. HILL, Indiana

LORETTA SANCHEZ, California

ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland

VIC SNYDER, Arkansas

KEVIN BRADY, Texas

RON PAUL, Texas

MICHAEL C. BURGESS, M.D., Texas

JOHN CAMPBELL, California

SENATE

CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York, Vice

Chairman

JEFF BINGAMAN, New Mexico

AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota

ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., Pennsylvania

JIM WEBB, Virginia

SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas, Ranking Minority

JIM DEMINT, South Carolina

JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho

ROBERT F. BENNETT, Utah

NAN GIBSON, Executive Director

JEFF SCHLAGENHAUF, Minority Staff Director

(II)

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CONTENTS

MEMBERS

Hon.

Hon.

Hon.

Hon.

Hon.

Hon.

Carolyn B. Maloney, Chair, a U.S. Representative from New York ..........

Sam Brownback, Ranking Minority, a U.S. Senator from Kansas .............

Maurice D. Hinchey, a U.S. Representative from New York ......................

Kevin Brady, a U.S. Representative from Texas .........................................

Elijah E. Cummings, a U.S. Representative from Maryland ......................

Michael C. Burgess, M.D., a U.S. Representative from Texas ...................

1

3

4

4

6

7

WITNESSES

Dr. Rebecca Blank, Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, Department of

Commerce .............................................................................................................

Dr. Cecilia Rouse, Member, Council of Economic Advisers ..................................

Dr. Karen Davis, President, The Commonwealth Fund .......................................

Dr. Harry Holzer, Professor of Public Policy, Georgetown University and

Institute Fellow, Urban Institute .......................................................................

Mr. Thomas P. Miller, Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute ............

SUBMISSIONS

FOR THE

10

12

27

29

31

RECORD

Prepared statement of Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, Chair ....................

Prepared statement of Representative Elijah E. Cummings ...............................

Letter from Representative Michael C. Burgess, M.D. to Rebecca Blank ..........

Letter from Representative Michael C. Burgess, M.D. to Cecilia Rouse ............

Letter from Cecilia Rouse to Representative Michael C. Burgess, M.D. ............

Prepared statement of Dr. Rebecca Blank .............................................................

Prepared statement of Dr. Cecilia Rouse ...............................................................

Prepared statement of Mr. Joseph Stiglitz ............................................................

Prepared statement of Dr. Karen Davis ................................................................

Prepared statement of Dr. Harry Holzer ...............................................................

Prepared statement of Mr. Thomas P. Miller .......................................................

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(III)

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INCOME, POVERTY, AND HEALTH CARE

COVERAGE: ASSESSING KEY CENSUS

INDICATORS OF FAMILY WELL-BEING

IN 2008

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2009

CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES,

JOINT ECONOMIC COMMITTEE,

Washington, DC.

The committee met, pursuant to call, at 1:02 p.m., in Room 210,

Cannon House Office Building, The Honorable Carolyn B. Maloney

(Chair) presiding.

Representatives present: Maloney, Hinchey, Cummings,

Brady, and Burgess.

Senators present: Casey and Brownback.

Staff present: Nan Gibson, Colleen Healy, Elisabeth Jacobs, Andrew Wilson, Dean Clancy, Lydia Mashburn, Jeff Schlagenhauf,

and Chris Frenze.

OPENING STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE CAROLYN B.

MALONEY, CHAIR, A U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM NEW YORK

Chair Maloney. I would like to call this meeting to order and

recognize other members for 5 minutes after my opening statement, and then I would like to introduce the first panel.

First, I would like to thank our witnesses for joining us today to

discuss the 2008 official government statistics on income, poverty,

and health insurance coverage that were released this morning by

the Commerce Department¡¯s Census Bureau. These are among the

most important indicators of family well-being, and the picture

from 2000 to 2008 is rather grim.

Between 2000 and 2008 median income fell by nearly $2,200; the

number of Americans living in poverty grew by 8.2 million, and

nearly 8 million people joined the ranks of the uninsured. American families have lost a decade due to the failed economic policies

of the Bush Administration.

Nearly one year ago this committee held a hearing at the request

of the late Senator Edward Kennedy on poverty in America. Senator Kennedy was home. He was sick and he called and said,

Please have this hearing. I want to watch it. I wish I could be

there. But he was very devoted to helping the poor and was a

strong and vocal and effective advocate, and although we have lost

the lion of the Senate, his dream lives on in the Democratic Congress and in all of us. We will certainly continue his work on behalf

of the less fortunate.

(1)

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