Between 2012 and 2013, the percentage of Americans with incomes below the poverty line—a mere $18,552 per year for a family of three—declined slightly, from 15 percent to 14.5 percent

Download the Full 2014 Annual Report

Congress has allowed emergency unemployment insurance to expire for more than five months. While the Senate passed a bipartisan agreement to extend unemployment benefits, House Republicans have refused to act. Their inaction has denied a critical economic lifeline to more than 2.5 million Americans and drained more than $5 billion from our economy.

The American people and our economic recovery cannot afford this delay. Unemployment insurance remains critical to unemployed workers; it kept 2.5 million people, including 600,000 children, out of poverty in 2012. By definition, these benefits are for those who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own and who are ready, willing, and able to start a new job. Our economic recovery is also in jeopardy: Letting these benefits lapse over the next year would cost us 310,000 jobs and would reduce vital economic growth. We cannot afford for House Republicans to block this program that benefits the unemployed and our economy.

Due to the slow economic recovery, it has been historically difficult for many workers to find new employment, and 36 percent of unemployed Americans have been out of work for more than half a year. Although the economy has improved since the Great Recession, there are still three job seekers for every job opening. In a period of high long-term unemployment and intense competition for jobs, it is both unfair and harmful to cut off benefits to already struggling Americans.

The time to act is now. This could be the last chance for Congress to renew unemployment insurance for millions of Americans. For many of these families, it is difficult to make ends meet without one month unemployment insurance benefits, let alone five months. Congress is currently working to resurrect more than 60 expired tax breaks for corporations; struggling families should be part of the equation. If Congress can act to protect tax breaks for corporations, which the Senate could vote on this week, they can also provide a lifeline to unemployed families.

Enter your zip code and take action today to restore this crucial lifeline for struggling American families!

Our American Story, along with Community Action Partnership, wanted to give voice to the millions of Americans whose lives have been transformed by programs such as nutrition assistance, early education, job training, and other programs that have their roots in the War on Poverty. Our American Story: Personal Stories on the War on Poverty’s Legacy is a collection of written stories from Americans who have benefited from programs with roots in the War on Poverty. These stories lend a voice to the millions of Americans who have previously or are currently struggling to make ends meet and for whom these supports are a vital lifeline.

Many Americans across the country have shared their personal histories with us about the safety net and how it has helped them. This booklet showcases merely 30 of the contributions submitted by parents, children, and service providers who have struggled or are struggling with poverty; they are our neighbors, our relatives, and our teachers. Their stories are Our American Story.

Download Our American Story Personal Stories on the War on Poverty’s Legacy

Join the conversation and register to host a watch party!

It’s time we take a stand for women and families living paycheck to paycheck. HBO and the most recent Shriver Report, a joint project between Maria Shriver and the Center for American Progress, recently announced the March 17 premiere of their documentary film collaboration, “Paycheck to Paycheck: The Life and Times of Katrina Gilbert.” We hope you will consider joining the national conversation on family economic security issues by hosting a film watch party and entering to win a Google Hangout with Maria Shriver!

“Paycheck to Paycheck: The Life and Times of Katrina Gilbert” offers the deeply personal, unvarnished, and moving story of Katrina Gilbert, a single mom of three, whose daily struggles illuminate the challenges faced by the 42 million women who are living in poverty or on the brink of it and the 28 million children who depend on them. The documentary premieres Monday, March 17 at 9:00 p.m. ET/8:00 p.m. CT on HBO. Watch the trailer below:

http://youtu.be/GMWEfUwnwYQ

You are invited to host a screening of the film with your friends, family, and colleagues. The film premieres on HBO the evening of March 17 and will be available for free streaming during the premiere and for the following week at ShriverReport.org and HBO.com. To access a screening guide with all of the details you will need to host a viewing party, click here.

Please register your party on Eventbrite here, and you will be entered to win a Google Hangout with Maria Shriver the week of March 24! The winner will have a discussion with Maria Shriver about issues raised in the film and her work on The Shriver Report. You must sign up at Eventbrite in order to enter the drawing to win a Google Hangout with Maria.

We also hope you will follow @ShriverReport and @HalfinTen on Twitter and tweet @ShriverReport and @HalfinTen with your support for the documentary using the hashtags #PaycheckToPaycheck and #TalkPoverty.

That’s why we must take action and support the Fair Minimum Wage Act, which would raise the wage to $10.10 by 2016 and raise the minimum wage for tipped workers—currently a stunning $2.13 per hour—to 70 percent of the minimum wage. If the minimum wage from the late 1960s were indexed to inflation, it would now be well over $10.50 an hour. Raising the minimum wage would help 28 million American workers make ends meet, including 7 million women, and more than 21 million children have a parent who would get a raise.

Even though raising the wage would bring millions of families into the middle class and boost the economic recovery, many are fighting against it. We must push back against false claims and narratives that stoke fears about things like job loss, economic pain for small businesses, and higher consumer prices. The bottom line is we need to restore a strong minimum wage for America’s workers and provide millions of families relief from poverty – it’s time working families are given a raise!

Take action, share your story, and get your elected officials to listen. This toolkit provides several resources to help you take action with the media, other advocates, and your elected officials in support of raising the minimum wage, including:

• State-by-state and national data on the current state of poverty from Half in Ten and its partners
• Media talking points
• Questions and Answers
• Sample op-ed, press release, and letters to the editor
• Ways to hold members of Congress accountable for the Live the Wage Challenge
• State-by-state and national data on the effects of an increased minimum wage
• Ways to take action online—including use of infographics and social media—by joining the #TalkPoverty online community
• Ways to tell your story through Our American Story and make your voice heard in the media
• Other resources to help you organize and take action

DOWNLOAD the updated National Minimum Wage toolkit now (MS Word): helpful resources for advocates in any state

This new report from Half in Ten and the Center for American Progress examines the results of a brand new poll of more than 2,000 American adults, including a significant oversample of Millennials, and found that Millennials are more likely than older Americans to face direct economic problems.

Read the full report on the Center for American Progress website.

Congress allowed emergency unemployment insurance to expire at the end of 2013, leaving 1.6 million Americans without a vital economic lifeline. Never before has Congress allowed unemployment insurance, or UI, extensions to expire with long-term unemployment so high Now, however, several weeks have passed, and Congress still has not renewed UI, resulting in the lowest share of unemployed workers receiving aid on record, even though there are still three jobseekers for every job.

The share of long-term unemployed workers is higher than ever before. When Congress has allowed unemployment benefits to expire in the past, the percentage of unemployed workers who were without work for six months or longer was never higher than 23 percent. Today, 38 percent of unemployed Americans have been out of work long term.

By letting unemployment insurance expire, Congress has pulled the rug out from under millions of American families struggling to get on their feet in the midst of an economic recovery. Unemployment insurance remains a crucial source of protection for unemployed workers; it kept 2.5 million people, including 600,000 children, out of poverty in 2012. By definition, these benefits are for those who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own and who are ready, willing, and able to take a new job. Enough is enough!

Congress must renew UI because it relieves hardship for job seekers and their families and is one of the most efficient ways to spur job creation in a weak economy. If Congress does not renew UI, the economy will lose 310,000 jobs in 2014. Today, the percentage of unemployed workers who have been out of work long term, the length of unemployment, and the share of workers who run out of benefits before finding a new job are all higher than they were every time Congress has let emergency unemployment insurance expire after past recessions.

Federal unemployment insurance supports the unemployed job seekers, keeps millions of Americans out of poverty, and spurs economic growth. The failure of Congress to renew unemployment benefits would be unprecedented in the history of federal responses to high unemployment following economic recessions, especially as 68 percent of Americans support extending the time limit for unemployment benefits for the unemployed during economic downturns.

Take action today by entering your zip code here to restore this crucial lifeline for struggling American families. Enter your zip code below to urge your Congress member to renew UI!