US Congress Bills On Child Poverty And Mothers' Caring Work

EDM number 683 in 2012-13, proposed by John McDonnell on 05/11/2012.
Categorised under the topics of Child care, Children and families, Family benefits and Incomes and poverty.

That this House welcomes two bills presently in the US Congress, the Rise Out of Poverty Act (RISE Act) and the Women's Option to Raise Kids Act (WORK Act), which make the elimination of child poverty the first priority of welfare policy and recognise the right of all mothers, including those on welfare, to choose to raise their own children; believes that the UK would benefit from a similar policy since four million UK children, one in three, are living in poverty; notes that raising children is hard work without which society and the economy could not function; deplores that the primary carers of children, usually mothers, are demeaned as workless unless they do waged work; rejects workfare that forces mothers and others to work for well below the minimum wage to keep their benefits, inviting employers to bypass both the minimum wage and pay equity; considers that contempt for mothers presumes contempt for the children they care for; rejects attempts to limit child benefits to the first two children while dismissing additional children as extra; and reaffirms humanity's assumption that every child is precious not only to their parents but to all society, and that every primary carer is entitled to resources and support for their invaluable caring work.

This motion has been signed by a total of 13 MPs.