BOSTON – The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law has given Senator John Kerry it’s highest possible 100% rating, citing his work to help end poverty in America, raise the minimum wage, reduce the cost of college, provide access to affordable housing, his support of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and Head Start, as well as his staunch support of the Development, Relief, and Education for Minors (DREAM) Act.

“America needs a renewed focus on poverty at a time when more and more families are struggling to make ends meet, stay in their homes, and pay for medicine, gas, and the heating bills let alone afford decent health care. We need to keep up the fight for fundamental fairness in the United States, and I’m honored to be fighting on the same side as The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law. No one has given more of themselves and their passion to the too often silent struggle against poverty than Sarge Shriver, and I’m honored to receive this rating and to continue working in the Senate for his Center’s ideals,” said Senator Kerry.

Earlier this month the Senate passed Kerry’s Mortgage Revenue Bond program as part of the Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008. The program will provide an additional $10 billion of tax-exempt private activity bond authority to be used to provide for the refinancing of subprime loans, mortgages for first-time homebuyers, and multifamily rental housing. Approximately $211 million will go to help Massachusetts homeowners.

Kerry’s Military Family Homes Protection Act was also included in the overall housing bill. That act expands the Service Member Civil Relief Act (SCRA) which provides returning soldiers with one year relief from increases in mortgage interest rates. It will also extend the existing protections from foreclosure from 90 days to nine months after active duty service members return home.

Earlier this month, Kerry also introduced legislation – the Emergency Student Loan Liquidity Market Act - to help students who may have otherwise been denied loans despite having perfectly good credit, get approved for student loans. There are currently close to half a million college students in Massachusetts. Kerry’s legislation will make sure that more students across the state will have access to student loans and providers.

Kerry has also been a longtime supporter of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. SCHIP expands health care coverage to millions of uninsured children by providing a low-cost health insurance option to families who earn too much money to qualify for Medicaid but who cannot afford to purchase private insurance. Kerry pushed aggressively for additional SCHIP funds during the Senate Finance Committee’s development of the plan. President Bush vetoed the bi-partisan legislation late last year.

Kerry was also a strong supporter of the DREAM Act. The DREAM Act had aimed to provide a path to citizenship for hard-working immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as young children who would like to pursue higher education or military service. However, Senate Republicans blocked passage of the Act.

Last year Kerry also voted to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour.

More than 37 million people, about 1 in 10, live in poverty in the United States. The Shriver Center aims at eliminating poverty through policy development and communications. Sargent Shriver founded the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law (then the National Clearinghouse for Legal Services) in 1967. As the architect of a nationally coordinated system for delivering legal services to low-income people, Mr. Shriver focused on the use of information and communication to add value to the very limited resources allocated for the legal representation of people in poverty.

Kerry was recently given a 100% rating by the American Association of University Women for his work on strengthening hate crimes laws, making college more affordable, addressing the pay gap between men and women, and raising the minimum wage. He also was awarded a 100% rating by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights for his work on raising the minimum wage, immigration reform and his opposition to judicial nominees who disregard basic civil rights.

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