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Michael Bennet on Welfare & Poverty
Democratic Presidential Challenger; CO Senator
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Everybody should have a share in our prosperity
We have had 40 years of no economic mobility in the United States, 90% of the American people have not shared in the economic growth. For them those periods of growth has acted as a recession. They can't afford the basic components of the middle class
life. If you're poor in this country, your chances of getting into the middle class are lower today than they've been in generations. That is tearing at our democracy. What we need is a country where everybody has a share in our prosperity.
Source: ABC This Week 2019 interview
, Jun 2, 2019
Voted YES on instituting National Service as a new social invention.
Congressional Summary:Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) Act: Adds to National and Community Service Act of 1990 (NCSA) purposes:- providing year-round opportunities in service-learning;
- involving program participants in emergency and disaster preparedness, relief, and recovery;
- increasing service opportunities for retiring professionals;
- encouraging service by individuals age 55 or older and continued service by national service alumni;
- focusing national service on the areas of national need.
Proponent's argument to vote Yes:Sen. BARBARA MIKULSKI (D, MD): [In developing national service over many years] we were not in the business of creating another new social program. What we were in the business of was creating a new social invention. What do I mean by that? In our country, we are known for our technological inventions. But also often overlooked, and sometimes undervalued, is our social inventions.
We created national service to let young people find opportunity to be of service and also to make an important contribution. But not all was rosy. In 2003, when I was the ranking member on the appropriations subcommittee funding national service, they created a debacle. One of their most colossal errors was that they enrolled over 20,000 volunteers and could not afford to pay for it. That is how sloppy they were in their accounting. I called them the "Enron of nonprofits."
And they worked on it. But all that is history. We are going to expand AmeriCorps activity into specialized corps. One, an education corps; another, a health futures corps; another, a veterans corps; and another called opportunity corps. These are not outside of AmeriCorps. They will be subsets because we find this is where compelling human need is and at the same time offers great opportunity for volunteers to do it.
Opponent's argument to vote No:No senators spoke against the amendment.
Reference: Serve America Act/GIVE Act;
Bill H.R. 1388
; vote number 2009-S115
on Mar 26, 2009
Support school breakfast for low-income children.
Bennet signed bill favoring school breakfast for low-income kids
A resolutix`on expressing the sense of the Senate that providing breakfast in schools through the national school breakfast program has a positive impact on the lives and classroom performance of low-income children.- Recognizes the positive effect the National School Breakfast Program has had on children's classroom performance and the lives of low-income children and families.
- Expresses strong support for states that have successfully implemented school breakfast programs and encourages all states to improve their programs.
- Recognizes:
- the importance of providing states with resources to improve the availability of adequate and nutritious breakfasts;
- the role nonprofit and community organizations play in increasing awareness of, and access to, breakfast programs for low-income children; and
- hat National School Breakfast Week helps draw attention to the need for, and success of, the National School Breakfast Program.
Source: SR67&HRes210 2009-SR67 on Mar 5, 2009
Page last updated: Mar 01, 2020