U.S. Poverty Rate Leveling Off

U.S. Poverty Rate Leveling Off: "U.S. Poverty Rate Leveling Off

By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER
The Associated Press
Tuesday, August 29, 2006; 5:44 PM

WASHINGTON -- Four years into an economic recovery, the number of people living in poverty has finally stopped climbing.

Household incomes edged up slightly in 2005, but 37 million people were still living below the poverty line, about the same as the year before, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday.

It was the first year without an increase in poverty since 2000, just before President Bush took office.

The numbers immediately became political fodder, with a little more than two months to go before midterm congressional elections that will determine whether Republicans continue to control the House and the Senate.

Some Republicans blamed the stubborn poverty numbers on immigrants holding down wages. Democrats blamed the Bush administration, noting that incomes are lower and the poverty rate is higher than when Bush took office.

Democrats also noted that the number of people without health insurance climbed for the sixth straight year, reaching 46.6 million people in 2005.

'I know what they say about putting lipstick on a pig, but I don't see how the Bush administration can spin these numbers in their favor,' said Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y.

Bush's budget chief said the"