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Gov’t Pandemic Assistance Led to Drop in U.S. Poverty Rates in 2020

HeadlineSep 15, 2021

Poverty rates in the U.S. fell in 2020 thanks to government assistance during the pandemic, including stimulus checks and unemployment aid. The Census Bureau said Tuesday the U.S. supplemental poverty rate fell over 2.5 percentage points to 9.1% despite the highest unemployment numbers since the Great Depression. Bernie Sanders, chair of the Senate Budget Committee, tweeted, “When government responds to the needs of the working class, millions of families are lifted out of poverty.” Sanders added, “We must not stop here. We must pass the $3.5T reconciliation bill and invest in working families.”

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