Brian Schatz on Welfare & Poverty

100% score on the National Food Policy Scorecard

"Having healthy, nutritious food is a basic necessity for everyone, but access to that food may not be so basic," said Senator Schatz. "More than 90,000 Hawai'i families rely on help from the government each month to put food on their tables. We all need to work together to be sure families in Hawai'i have nutritious food."

The full Scorecard for all members of the 113th Congress can be viewed at www.foodpolicyaction.org. FPA was created in 2012 to turn shared values about sustainable food and farming into national priorities.

The National Food Policy Scorecard is published to educate the public on food policy issues and provides objective information about the most important food policy votes before Congress. [Press release from the office of the senator].

Create a state earned income tax credit

Governor Lingle wants "attention on relief for those who need it most." To this end, she is proposing an increase in the standard deduction and new tax credits on food and medicine. These aren't bad ideas, but there's a better, more cost-effective solution.

A state earned income tax credit, or EITC, is a proven policy that smartly focuses tax relief on those families with children who earn less than a living wage. Under the governor's $22 million plan to increase the standard deduction, a single parent with two children making $20,000 per year would see a measly $2 more in every paycheck. A refundable state EITC would provide that same family with a tax refund of more than $600.