bob woodson. we've been down and saw firsthand what people getting in the trenches and going out and helping people. not just talking policy. not just saying big things and nice things, but going out and ministering to people and helping them to improve their lives. and jennifer marshall, of course, has been tremendous. she organized the whole trip and has done so much research in this area. let me say it this way. if you're going to stop poverty in the broad sense, and i'm going to talk briefly and we'll get to the panelists. if you're going to prevent poverty, three things you need. work, strong families and free markets. i mean, it's really that simple. focus on work. focus on marriage and family. focus on free markets and let's be honest, this administration is not doing good in any of those three areas. and that's why we need to change and that's why we need to highlight this, and that's really what our bill is all about. and i want to spend my few minutes talking mostly about the first thing

bob woodson is the founder of a group. he has been working with folks in congress, getting them to talk to people. he wants to understand and rub shoulders with folks. his work has been really important to this effort to o. marshall is with the heritage foundation has been working a lot with bob. the director of domestic policy studies here at heritage. we are privileged to have her here. i will open it up with a couple questions. then we will go to the audience. bob, your testimony at the senate budget committee, we saw that -- very powerful. you shared a story about your niece. that is what we are connecting with. would you mind sharing that with the group? can you talk about the implications? >> when their father died, they left behind six children in a rural community. they all went to college on a government scholarship. that was her defense. my response was that we generalize about poor people. we disaggregate them. you have people who use welfare as a character attack like she did. it was use as an ambulance, not a

bob woodson. we've been down and saw firsthand what people getting in the trenches and going out and helping people. not just talking policy. not just saying big things and nice things, but going out and ministering to people and helping them to improve their lives. and jennifer marshall, of course, has been tremendous. she organized the whole trip and has done so much research in this area. let me say it this way. if you're going to stop poverty in the broad sense, and i'm going to talk briefly and we'll get to the panelists. if you're going to prevent poverty, three things you need. work, strong families and free markets. i mean, it's really that simple. focus on work. focus on marriage and family. focus on free markets and let's be honest, this administration is not doing good in any of those three areas. and that's why we need to change and that's why we need to highlight this, and that's really what our bill is all about. and i want to spend my few minutes talking mostly about the first thing