The Great Recession has undermined the economic security of people and communities across America, including the poor. There were 43.6 million Americans living in poverty in 2009, an astounding 17 percent increase in the two years since the Great Recession began in 2007. We hope that the Poverty Scorecard gives you the tools you need to evaluate your representatives' performance on enacting laws to address the root causes and profound effects of poverty. Share a letter with your representatives to let them know their actions will be evaluated in the future. The following letter will send a message to your members of Congress, based on zip code.