BERNARD SANDERS 332 SENATE DIRKSEN OEEICE BUILDING

VERMONT WASHINGTON, DC 20510
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ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS 

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HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND
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June 21,2018

The Honorable Nikki Haley

U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
799 United Nations Plaza

New York, NY 10017

Dear Ambassador Haley:
Thank you very much for your response to my recent letter.

You are certainly right in suggesting that poverty in many countries including the Democratic
Republic of Congo and Burundi is far worse than it is in the United States. But What is important
to note about poverty in America is that it takes place in the richest county in the history of the
world and at a time when wealth and income inequality is worse than at any time since the
19203.

As it happens, I personally believe that it is totally appropriate for the UN Special Rapporteur to
focus on poverty in the United States. As I?m sure you know, in America today despite low
unemployment, some 40 million people still live in poverty, more than 30 million have no health
insurance, over half of older workers have no retirement savings, 140 million Americans are
struggling to pay for basic living expenses, 40 percent of Americans cannot afford a $400
emergency and millions of Americans are leaving school deeply in debt.

I hope you will agree that in a nation in which the top three people own more wealth than the
bottom half, we can and must do much better than that.

I travel to New York every now and then and would love the opportunity to speak with you
about these and other issues.

Thank you again for your letter.
Sincerely,

ij/w

Senator Bernard Sanders