Census Data Shows President Bush's Failed Leadership Falls Disproportionately on African American Families

Washington, DC - Even as Republican Party leaders travel the country hyping their newfound interest in attracting minority voters, the Census Bureau today released new data showing that African American families have been especially hurt by the Bush Administration's failed leadership on poverty, health insurance and wages. The report, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2004, shows that 800,000 more Americans lacked health insurance in 2004, that the number of Americans living in poverty and the nation's poverty rate increased, and that median wages in America stayed unchanged for the second consecutive year, even as gas prices and inflation continued to climb.

According to the report: African American households have the lowest median income, at $30,134 -- down by more than $2,000 since Bush took office; approximately 7.4 million African Americans lack health insurance, an increase of almost 770,000 people since 2000; and nearly 25 percent (9 million) of all African Americans lived in poverty in 2004, an increase of over 250,000 over the past two years.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean today issued the following statement:

"Actions speak louder than words. The Republican Party's hollow rhetoric about reaching out to minority voters can't hide the fact that President Bush's failed leadership has driven more people onto the rolls of the uninsured, pushed more families into poverty, and driven down real workers' wages. Instead of finding solutions to the problems confronting American families, President Bush and his party have chosen a disastrous special interest-driven agenda highlighted by irresponsible tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, disastrous deficits, and a risky Social Security scheme that would undermine the promise of retirement security for African American seniors.

"Democrats know that we can do better by balancing the budget and getting the economy working for everyone so that American families don't have to choose between a bag of groceries and a gallon of gas."