report, compiled by the Republican staff of Ryan's
committee, said the U.S. poverty rate of 15 percent in 2012 was
down only slightly from the 17.3 percent in 1965, the year after
President Lyndon Johnson launched his "war on poverty" with new
spending on aid programs.

"A large problem is the 'poverty trap,'" the report said.
"There are so many anti-poverty programs - and there is so
little coordination between them - that they often work at
cross-purposes and penalize families for getting ahead."

The report did not recommend specific cuts to individual
programs, but Ryan said it was meant to launch a public debate
about anti-poverty spending. He was expected to outline his
proposals in a Republican budget plan due out in a few weeks.

OBAMA BUDGET WILL TACKLE POVERTY

Obama's 2015 budget request is expected to include expansion
of a taxcredit for the working poor and an expansion of Head
Start, the pre-school education program for poor children
launched by Johnson.

Ryan's report sharply criticized Head Start, which cost $8
billion in fiscal 2012, for "failing to prepare children for
school."

It cited two studies done for the Department of Health and
Human Services that found the three- and four-year-olds who
participated in the program showed little to no evidence of
cognitive improvements over non-Head Start students by the time
they reached the end of first grade and third grades. In some
cases they had lower math scores, the studies showed.

Ryan's report was largely supportive of the $59 billion
Earned Income Tax Credit, which Obama wants to expand, citing
several studies that found it largely met its aim of encouraging
work among low income people by providing them with a refundable
tax credit.

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