; Whereas the United States has one of the highest levels of poverty among industrialized countries; Whereas the United States should also work toward improving the life of its own poorest population, as 13.5 percent live below the Federal poverty level; Whereas there are more than 43,000,000 persons living on incomes less than the Federal Poverty Level, including more than 10,000,000 African-American persons, more than 2,000,000 Asian persons, more than 12,000,000 Hispanic persons, and more than 14,500,000 children; Whereas at the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000, the United States joined more than 180 countries in committing to work toward the United Nations Millennium Development Goals to improve life for the world’s poorest people by 2015; Whereas the United States joined more than 180 countries in committing to work toward the 17 Sustainable Development Goals to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities, and tackle climate change by 2030; Whereas empowering people in the United States and abroad to support themselves will provide a solid foundation for global economic recovery; Whereas the economic gap between the rich and the poor is even greater today than it was following World War II, when the United States Congress deemed the Marshall Plan essential to the security of the United States; Whereas reducing poverty may assist in warding off harsh conditions that extremists may exploit to rally support for political violence; Whereas United States citizens and nongovernmental organizations have proposed a new Global Marshall Plan, including— (1) providing increased funding to eliminate poverty, homelessness, hunger, inadequate education, and health care domestically and globally in addition to restoring the global environment; (2) revising existing trade and other agreements in which the United States is currently involved so that such agreements favor improving the lives of the poor around the world, and approaching future agreements with like intent