FACTBOX: White House candidates' proposals on poverty

(Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidates are focusing their attention on poverty as food prices rise and American voters struggle with a sputtering economy.

Below are some elements of the anti-poverty proposals put forward by Republican John McCain and Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

OBAMA

The Illinois senator has pledged to fight poverty by:

- expanding transitional jobs programs

- ensuring the freedom for workers to form unions

- strengthening programs that provide capital to businesses owned by minorities

- expanding the earned income tax credit and raising the minimum wage to $9.50 by 2011

- expanding a program that provides home visits by trained registered nurses to low-income expectant mothers

- requiring employers to provide seven paid sick days a year

- expanding early childhood education programs so poor children do not have a disadvantage in school

CLINTON

The New York senator has promised to fight poverty by:

- Raising the minimum wage to $9.50 by 2011 and expanding the earned income tax credit

- investing $1 billion to create affordable housing trust funds nationwide

- providing new job training opportunities for 1.5 Million at-risk youth