Rep. Sewell responds to Ambassador Haley’s dismissal of U.S. poverty

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Tuesday, Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell (D-AL) sent a letter to United Nations (UN) Ambassador Nikki Haley, calling on Ambassador Haley to visit Alabama and confirm the findings of a recent study conducted by the UN Special Rapporteur for Extreme Poverty. Rep. Sewell’s letter is in response to Ambassador Haley’s claim that it was “patently ridiculous” for the United Nations to examine poverty in America.

“It is not ‘patently ridiculous’ to call attention to extreme poverty in America, but it is ridiculous and shameful to disregard it and do nothing,” said Rep. Terri Sewell. “Every day, millions of American families struggle to put food on the table for their families or afford basic necessities like a working wastewater system or primary health and dental care.

Before Ambassador Haley dismisses the realities of severe poverty in America or families living in extreme distress, she should see for herself the economically marginalized and forgotten communities that struggle under the weight of generational poverty. In Alabama’s 7th Congressional District, the failure of wastewater infrastructure in some rural communities has created a health crisis that should not exist in modern-day America. I invite Ambassador Haley to my district to see firsthand the suffering that I have seen, and the issues that my constituents confront every day.”

The full text of Rep. Sewell’s letter to Ambassador Haley is available on her website.

The letter follows a response from Ambassador Haley after Rep. Sewell and Sen. Sanders wrote to the Ambassador urging a plan of action from the Trump Administration for addressing poverty in the wake of the U.N. report exposing poverty in the United States. Rep. Sewell met with Philip Alston, the UN Special Rapporteur for Extreme Poverty during his visit to the United States last year to investigate extreme poverty and make recommendations.