I Told Paul Ryan What It’s Like to Live in Poverty. Here’s What Happened Next. [BillMoyers.com]

Back in 2014, Rep. Paul Ryan sponsored a hearing entitled “War on Poverty: A Progress Report” and California Congresswoman Barbara Lee requested that Chairman Ryan allow Tianna Gaines-Turner — a mother and anti-poverty activist who has struggled with poverty and homelessness — to testify. Ryan refused to change the witness list, but he did allow her written remarks to be entered into the record. In this letter, Gaines-Turner follows up on her original statement in advance of Rep. Ryan’s unveiling of his new poverty task force proposal, due to happen later today. This post originally appeared atTalkPoverty.

Dear Speaker Ryan,

I read that you will roll out your new poverty task force’s proposal tomorrow, and I wonder if you remember me. I testified at one of the hearings you hosted on the War on Poverty two years ago. Of the 17 expert witnesses who participated in the series, I was the only one who actually lived in poverty.

At the time, I felt like I had the weight of so many people on my shoulders — people who don’t normally have a voice in Congress. How would Congress ever know what they should do to address poverty if they don’t ever speak to us?

[For more of this story, written by Tianna Gaines-Turner, go to http://billmoyers.com/story/to...heres-happened-next/]