Friday
Dec112009
Troubled Communities Need More Assistance, Says Congressional Black Caucus
Friday, December 11, 2009 at 4:50PM
By Leah Valencia, University of New Mexico- Talk Radio News Service
The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) called on President Barack Obama and Congressional leaders Friday to prioritize communities that have been hardest hit in any job creation package.
The caucus released a letter Friday addressed to Obama and House leadership that suggests allocating 10 percent of job creation spending to predominantly black and latino communities, or communities that have been most deeply effected by unemployment.
“The African American community has been targeted with the lack of opportunities based on geography,” said CBC Jobs Task Force Chair Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.). “It seems all together reasonable to target that same community.”
CBC Chair Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said that specific language needs to be added to any jobs package to ensure that communities that need the most assistance will receive it.
“It is important to clarify this issue and make sure it is know that our concern is not based on the foundation or race,” Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.) “It is based on the foundation of need.”
The caucus did not comment as to whether it would vote against a jobs package that did not include the provisions they are pushing for.
The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) called on President Barack Obama and Congressional leaders Friday to prioritize communities that have been hardest hit in any job creation package.
The caucus released a letter Friday addressed to Obama and House leadership that suggests allocating 10 percent of job creation spending to predominantly black and latino communities, or communities that have been most deeply effected by unemployment.
“The African American community has been targeted with the lack of opportunities based on geography,” said CBC Jobs Task Force Chair Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.). “It seems all together reasonable to target that same community.”
CBC Chair Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said that specific language needs to be added to any jobs package to ensure that communities that need the most assistance will receive it.
“It is important to clarify this issue and make sure it is know that our concern is not based on the foundation or race,” Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.) “It is based on the foundation of need.”
The caucus did not comment as to whether it would vote against a jobs package that did not include the provisions they are pushing for.
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