New Lobbying Firm, Advocates for The Other America, to Be a Voice for Low Income Americans in Washington

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- With nearly one out of every two Americans living at or near the poverty level, there is an urgent need for a new voice in Washington DC to represent the interests of low income families and communities. Arley Johnson, a former West Virginia state legislator, and Brad Penney, a former congressional staffer, have joined forces to establish Advocates for The Other America (AFTOA), a lobbying and consulting firm working to elevate issues of poverty, economic development, and empowerment before the Congress and the Administration.

Named for famed author Michael Harrington's book The Other America, which exposed the depth of poverty in America during the 1960s, AFTOA works to provide effective legislative solutions to the economic problems of low income Americans. Despite the widespread increase in economic hardship, Congress and the Administration continue to adopt fiscal policies that worsen the plight of low income families and communities. Advocates will provide a new voice in Washington to advocate for policies that:

• Ensure that every child has the same opportunity to advance in society regardless of economic resources;
• Support economic policies that enable every American to have a job and to achieve economic self-sufficiency;
• Reduce income inequality in America and narrow what is now the largest gap between rich and poor of any industrialized society;
• Rebuild the middle class by creating a ladder of opportunity from poverty to success; and
• Ensure a continued role for the federal government in investing in programs that empower low income Americans to achieve economic security.

AFTOA will work in the coming months to build and lead a working coalition of faith-based groups, labor unions, childcare advocates, the business community, and other private sector and nonprofit organizations to work for legislation and government policies that address poverty and the need for economic self-sufficiency.

The Executive Director of Advocates is Arley Johnson, a former West Virginia state legislator and Director of Government Relations for the National Association for State Community Services Programs (NASCSP). The General Counsel is Brad Penney, who has worked in both the House and Senate for more than twelve years and served as Director of Government Relations for the Alliance to Save Energy and as General Counsel of NASCSP. Further information is available at http://www.aftoa.org.

Contact: Arley Johnson | 202.4038630
[email protected]

This press release was issued through eReleases(R).  For more information, visit eReleases Press Release Distribution at http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE Advocates for The Other America