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John Delaney on Welfare & Poverty
Democratic candidate for President; U.S. Rep from MD-6
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Double the EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit)
Delaney on Tax Credits: Expand the EITC.FOUR CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Cory Booker; Kamala Harris; John Hickenlooper; Amy Klobuchar.
Harris is calling for a massive expansion of the EITC, including nearly doubling the income
cutoff for eligibility. Hickenlooper and Delaney want to double the EITC. Delaney also wants to make it available to people without children. Booker would increase EITC income eligibility level from $54k to $90k, boost the credit for childless workers.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
, Jul 17, 2019
Invest in rural America: opportunity zones & doubled EITC
Investment has been concentrated in a small number of cities and rural America has been left behind. Reversing this trend requires investment:- Student loan forgiveness for people that live and work in these communities for 10 years
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Priority in government contracting to companies with a majority of employees in rural counties
- Fix opportunity zone legislation to focus more on operating businesses, rather than investing in real estate
- Double the EITC
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Incentivize companies to build negative emission technology in rural America and coal country
- Create new SBIC and SBA Loan programs to encourage entrepreneurship and focus venture capital investment in rural
America, particularly agricultural and climate disruptive technologies
- Support entrepreneurship in rural communities and mid-sized cities adjacent to rural America
Source: 2020 Presidential Campaign website JohnDelaney.com
, May 2, 2019
Social justice is fine, but separate church and state
At the South-by-Southwest conference, Delaney reflected on his Catholic faith by arguing despite those beliefs, he still doesn't think religion should inform public policy. "I firmly believe in the separation of church and state, full stop," the
Maryland Democrat said when asked how his religion would shape his approach in office.He said his "social justice orientation" comes from his
Catholic faith "to some extent." But he said he doesn't think his church's doctrine "should decide public policy in this country."
"I also believe strongly in the freedom of religion, right, and I believe strongly in the separation of church and state. So I don't believe religious doctrine should inform public policy," he said.
Source: CNN KFile on 2019 SXSW conference in Austin
, Mar 11, 2019
Double the earned income tax credit (EITC)
I've called for doubling the earned income tax credit, which I think is one of the most successful tax programs we have in this country. This is a tax credit that goes in the pocket of working families. You have to work to get it, but it's
designed for hardworking families. And instead of doing the tax cuts that the Republicans just did, we should have done something like doubled the earned income tax credit, because that would help hardworking families.
Source: CNN Town Hall on 2020 Democratic presidential primary
, Mar 10, 2019
1970s EITC ended disincentive for poor people to work
Good things happen when people behave in ways that benefit not only themselves but society as a whole. This is what we should focus on in government: How can we incentivize the population to behave in ways that help ALL Americans? One way to do this
is by expanding the earned income tax credit, or EITC. Before the EITC was established in the 1970s there was a disincentive for some people to work as they could end up actually pocketing less money, because of taxes, than those who collected welfare.
This was a terrible situation and it essentially encouraged people to stay at home rather than get a job. The EITC changed that by giving a tax break to poor people who worked and earned money, thus giving them an incentive to continue working and
earning more income.
The EITC is an excellent program. Every year, it helps keep millions of Americans from falling into poverty, and, like many successful programs, it has bipartisan support.
Source: The Right Answer, by Rep. John Delaney, p. 79
, May 29, 2018
Voted NO on maintaining work requirement for welfare recipients.
Congressional Summary:- Prohibits any experimental pilot or demonstration project that: waives compliance with mandatory work requirements
- Rescinds and nullifies any such waiver granted before the enactment of this Act.
Proponent's Argument for voting Yes:
Rep. REICHERT: Congress must ensure that work continues to be the centerpiece of the TANF welfare program. We are here today debating the Obama administration's efforts to undermine work requirements. Bipartisan discussions were actually happening before the Obama administration announced they would waive work requirements for welfare recipients last summer. That announcement completely undermined bipartisan negotiations in our committee about ways to strengthen this program. Usually, if an administration wants to change the law, they must submit a legislative proposal for Congress to consider, but that's not what the Obama administration did with its proposal to waive the TANF work
requirements.
Opponent's Argument for voting No:
- Rep. LEVIN: Last summer the administration proposed that states would be allowed to apply for waivers and have some flexibility in terms of the application of the work requirements--not the end of them or changing them, but the implementation of them. The idea that the administration is going to try to overturn welfare reform is ridiculous. States have to apply individually for waivers, and they have to explain in detail why the approach would lead to either more employment or better jobs for people who are trying to stay off welfare.
- Rep. NEAL: I chaired the Democratic position [on 1990s welfare reform]. One of the goals of welfare reform was to move unemployed Americans from welfare to work, and it did work. The legislation has been very successful in meeting that goal. Welfare reform put people back on the work rolls. Welfare rolls have dropped by half, & poverty amongst children has dropped as well.
Reference: Preserving the Welfare Work Requirement & TANF Extension Act;
Bill H.R.890
; vote number 13-HV068
on Mar 13, 2013
Sponsored maintaining SNAP nutrition assistance program.
Delaney co-sponsored House Resolution on SNAP
- WHEREAS hunger is a serious threat to individual dignity, productivity, learning, economic prosperity, health, and development;
- WHEREAS food insecurity means that people face an ongoing struggle against hunger;
- WHEREAS 50.1 million people lived in food insecure households in 2011;
- WHEREAS the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP), established in the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, is the nation's first line of defense against hunger and food insecurity;
- WHEREAS SNAP served more than 47.5 million individuals in October 2012;
- WHEREAS the SNAP benefits average less than $1.50 per individual per meal;
- WHEREAS SNAP participation rises when the economy is weak;
- WHEREAS millions of Americans need to turn to SNAP as a way to feed themselves and their families;
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Whereas SNAP is an efficient public-private partnership that runs on the regular channels of commerce--regular retail food stores and electronic benefit transfer (EBT) systems;
- WHEREAS every dollar in new SNAP benefits generates up to $1.79 in economi
Source: H.RES.90 13-HRes90 on Feb 28, 2013
Page last updated: Dec 14, 2019