Testimony on House Resolution 473

Testimony on Economic Human Rights Standards in Pennsylvania:

Presented to the House of Representatives

House Resolution 144 Select Committee

March 25, 2004

By:

Joanne Hessmiller, PhD, ACSW

Vice President, Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers

Thank you, Chairman Kenney, Minority Chairman Curry, and other members of the House Resolution 144 Select Committee for the opportunity to speak with you today regarding the integration of economic human rights standards into Pennsylvania laws and policies. NASW-PA applauds you, the members of the HR 144 Select Committee, for your interest in this vital initiative and we look forward to working with you on it.

My name is Joanne Hessmiller and I am the Vice President of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW-PA). The PA Chapter is a state affiliate of the National Association of Social Workers, the largest association for professional social workers in the United States representing over 150,000 members worldwide in 56 chapters. NASW-PA is the eighth largest Chapter and serves over 6,400 members in Pennsylvania.

NASW-PA, in cooperation with the Kensington Welfare Rights Union (KWRU) and the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC), is engaged in the Economic Human Rights Initiative (EHR Initiative). The initiative in Pennsylvania is an ongoing campaign focused on bringing the attention of communities across the Commonwealth – including the PA General Assembly – to fully support the following economic human rights:

• right to health
• right to quality education
• right to sustainable employment at a living wage
• right to the “basics” - food, housing, child care, transportation, etc.

These rights were identified as fundamental in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a core component of the International Bill of Rights. Catherine Albisa, an attorney from the Center for Economic and Social Rights, will provide you with more information on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights during her testimony later this morning.

HR 144 and its predecessor, HR 473 of the 2001-2002 legislative session, serve two core functions: 1) validation of economic human rights as a significant issue for review by the PA General Assembly, and 2) an opportunity for open dialogue between the PA General Assembly and those individuals whose economic human rights have been violated. It is NASW-PA’s hope that this process will generate ideas about how government can support economic human rights and address some of the ongoing barriers to realizing such an essential goal.

Poverty and Economic Human Rights

Two fundamental changes must occur in the debate about poverty if future policymaking efforts are to be successful: 1) the definition of poverty and the scope of the debate must be changed, and 2) recognize that the solutions to poverty come from people’s lived experiences.

The educational effort to view “poverty” and “economic human rights” from a different perspective is not an easy one, but it is a process that must be undertaken.

1.Definition of Poverty and the Scope of the Debate

The United States of America and the Commonwealth must redefine the meaning of the term “poverty.” Poverty traditionally has been categorized through the use of numbers such as the U.S. census data. For example, according to the 2002 Census information almost 35 million people – 12 million of whom are children – are living in poverty. Although these numbers are staggering and accurately reflect the desperate situation across the country, “poverty” is much broader than the numbers reflect and impacts many more than 35 million individuals.

Poverty – more comprehensively defined – is the lack of the necessary means to fulfill your economic human rights. If we are to adequately address poverty – both the causes and the consequences – we must first identify what poverty is and who is affected by it. For example, even though an individual’s income is above the poverty threshold of approximately $18,500 for a family of four that individual can still be affected by poverty because of the lack of the necessary means to fulfill his or her economic human right to health, education, employment, housing, etc.

Changing the definition of poverty requires a shift in perception about what is a “consumer product” and what is a “right”. Health, education and housing are “rights” although the traditional perspective has been to view them as consumer products. Those who can afford will receive. Those who cannot afford will go without or will have to work their way through a patchwork of charitable or government programs intended only to temporarily relieve that individual’s situation.

Society as a whole will benefit from this fundamental change in perspective and a commitment on the part of government to respect and ensure individual human rights. The following excerpt from NASW’s Economic Policy statement illustrates this point:

“A country’s economic system should be evaluated according to its consequences for the fulfillment of people’s intrinsic needs. Economic systems should be understood as means toward consciously chosen social and financial ends rather than as ends in themselves. Examining the actual output of given economic systems in relation to the fulfillment of human needs helps avoid the fallacy of considering economic growth as a self-evident “good,” regardless of the quality and distribution of economic products, their impact on the environment, and the conditions and quality of life of all people in a society. By these standards, the U.S. economy is in deep trouble, because the basic human needs of an ever-increasing number of people are not being met.”

Using health as an example, one can see how a lack of protection for an individual’s economic human rights has a devastating impact on the health of the nation:

• Over 43.6 million - or 1 in 6 - Americans are uninsured.[1]
• Over 1,377,000 Pennsylvanians are uninsured. [2]

• The World Health Organization Ranks the US 37th in ability to deliver health care to citizens.

• The Institute of Medicine’s report, "Insuring America's Health", cites that the uninsured have a 25% greater mortality rate than the insured. This results in 18,000 deaths/year that can be attributed solely to the lack of insurance coverage.[3] Using this information in conjunction with US Census Bureau information for PA, it can be determined that approximately 600 Pennsylvanians die each year due to lack of coverage.

• The economic value lost due to the foregone health of uninsured people is between $65 and $130 billion annually. [4]

Continuing to deal with health care in a patchwork approach that doesn’t recognize it as an economic human right will only perpetuate problems.

2.Recognition that solutions to poverty come from people’s lived experiences.

The second fundamental change that must occur is a recognition that the solutions to addressing poverty and violations of economic human rights comes from people’s lived experiences.

Instead of seeking guidance on developing policies from individuals directly affected, policymakers and other advocates have too often relied on consultants and studies to develop “solutions” or new systems. This troublesome trend means that the people with the most at stake with these policies are the least likely to be meaningfully involved.

An example of this approach is what occurred on the federal level in 1996 with the passage of TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). Congress held dozens of hearings about how welfare in the US should be structured but of the nearly 600 witnesses, only 17 were welfare recipients and only four of the 17 were still receiving welfare at the time of their testimony. By not seeking direction from those directly affected, the policy product could never be truly comprehensive or helpful towards those who needed it. [5]

NASW-PA challenges you, the HR 144 Select Committee, to take a leadership role in forging a new brand of partnership between individuals and policymakers. Just as successful businesses know that continuous quality improvements come from the workers on the front line, policymakers must recognize that powerfully creative solutions to end poverty will only come from people’s lived experiences.

NASW-PA stands ready to work with you, the members of the HR 144 Select Committee, and other stakeholders to create a coordinated and integrated approach to insuring that economic human rights of Pennsylvania’s citizens are protected – an objective we believe is aligned with your policymaking concerns. The days of fragmented reforms that do not truly address the most fundamental needs and rights of Pennsylvania’s citizens must end. We urge your continuing collaboration with the citizens of the Commonwealth whose economic human rights have been violated and we pledge our support in this effort.

Once again, thank you for devoting your time to this significant issue. Evaluating how we integrate and support human rights in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a critical step to creating a viable Commonwealth in the 21st century.

Joanne Hessmiller, LSW, Vice President – NASW-PA

Testimony before HR 144 Select Committee

March 25, 2004

[1] Institute of Medicine. Insuring America’s Health: Principles and Recommendations. January 2004.

[2] US Census Bureau: Census statistics 2003.

[3] Institute of Medicine. January 2004.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Holloway Sparks, author of “Queens, Teens and Model Mothers: Race, Gender and the Discourse of Welfare Reform”; Centre Daily Times, September 8 2003.