WASHINGTON, DC - Today at a joint hearing, the Ways and Means Subcommittees on Oversight, and Income Security and Family Support examined the unprecedented pressure on food banks and front-line charities during this economic downturn.  The hearing comes after a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report on Monday revealing that close to 14.6 percent of American families struggled to find food last year, the highest rate since 1995.

Joint Hearing on Food Banks: Unprecedented Demand and Unmet Need

Today, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support of the Committee on Ways and Means are holding a joint hearing to examine hunger, and to find out how the Federal government, charities, private foundations, and individuals can work together to make sure every Americans has enough food to eat. 

Today we are talking about the most basic of human needs, and we need to get some basic answers.  Who is hungry?  Who are the new faces of hunger?  Where can people go for help?  Why aren't front-line charities able to serve all of those in need?  What can Congress do to help?

WASHINGTON, DC - Leaders of the House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) last night requesting an expedited report on recent trends in prescription drug pricing. 

The letter, authored by Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA), Chair of the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, and Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), Chair of the Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee, comes after recent studies and a New York Times report indicated that the pharmaceutical industry may be artificially raising prices in anticipation of the passage of health reform legislation that could reduce prescription drug prices or price growth.

Late tonight the U.S. House of Representatives passed an historic health care reform bill by a vote of 220 to 215 that will dramatically change the way health care is delivered in the United States. This bill will mean greater stability and lower costs for all Americans, including affordability for the middle class, security for our seniors and responsibility to our children.  The Affordable Health Care for America Act will achieve these goals, covering 96 percent of Americans without adding a dime to the deficit.

During the time set aside for members of the House Ways and Means Committee, Congressman Lewis made the following statement earlier today from the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in support of H.R.  3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act.