"Local Jobs For America" Bill Helps Minorities, Lawmakers Say

By Brandon Kosters - Talk Radio News Service

A group of lawmakers and local politicians spoke to the press today about the “Local Jobs For America Act,” a bill which, if passed, will invest money in job training for and hiring of teachers, police officers and firefighters in economically vulnerable cities throughout the country.

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, believes that this legislation will have a notable affect on the unemployment rate areas with large African American and Hispanic communities.

“The national unemployment rate is about 9.5%, yet in minority communities, in the African-American and Latino communities, it hovers around 16-17 %,” Lee said. “The Congressional Black Caucus wants to make sure [that] on every jobs bill that we work on, that we leave no one behind.”

Congressional Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), who also sits on the Congressional Black Caucus, said that the reduction of state services “diminishes the quality of life for our citizens,” and that the bill will ultimately stimulate the national economy. “Public jobs stimulate private job growth,” he said.

While the members of Congress conceded that there are lawmakers who oppose the bill, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said that focus needs to be shifted from partisan politics to the people being affect the most by the struggling economy.

“I’m not exactly sure what the mood is in the Senate, but I would only suggest that maybe we need to be a little more concerned about the mood of people who are unemployed, [and] their mood is they’re pissed off,” Nutter said. “They don’t have a job, I think that’s what we need to try to stay focused on.”


Congressional Black Caucus Urges Senate To Pass Jobs Bill

Robert Hune-Kalter
Talk Radio News Service

The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) hand delivered a letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) Wednesday, urging him to support job creation, especially for America’s youth.

The Senate recently rejected a provision put forth by the House to create summer employment for youths but CBC Chairwoman Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said they were able to make headway in creating jobs for young Americans.

“In this bill we were able to negotiate a $1 billion provision for a summer youth jobs program, our black farmer settlement [and] an expansion of temporary assistance for needy families,” Lee said.

The CBC points out that although the unemployment rate dropped May, the unemployment rate for African-American youths showed a 1 percent increase between April and May to 38 percent.

“I used to remember when the summer came, young people were just anxious to have that opportunity for their first job, to deny that opportunity to young people today is a crime,” said Rep. Donald Payne (D-N.J.)

The CBC is looking at passing a jobs bill as soon as possible, saying that funding would be most effective during the summer months while students are out of school.

“If the bill is approved at 3:30 today, we still have a problem, and that’s why we can’t wait,” said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-Mo.). “The money goes through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families to the state governments, then they go to the municipal government, which requires a vote to accept the money.”

Congressional Black Caucus Stands In Solidarity With Disaster-Struck Haiti

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus took to the House floor early Wednesday evening to voice support for Haiti a day after a massive earthquake wreaked destruction on the Caribbean nation.

“It’s unimaginable,” Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) said, describing the 7.0 magnitude quake. “It rocks you in your soul.”

“We express our continued support of Haiti,” said Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), who chairs the caucus. “We stand in solidarity with Haitians and Haitian Americans who have lost loved ones.”

The chairwoman went on to thank rescue workers who have provided aid in search and rescue efforts.

While an official death toll has not been compiled, Haitian Senator Youri Latortue has told the Associated Press that fatalities could number 500,000. More conservative estimates hover around 100,000.

Troubled Communities Need More Assistance, Says Congressional Black Caucus

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.

House Democrats Demand Robust Public Health Care Option

By Sam Wechsler - Talk Radio News Service

The Congressional Tri-Caucus and Congressional Progressive Caucus announced Thursday that they have 53 signatures vowing not to vote for health care reform unless the legislation contains a robust public option.

Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), Co-Chair for the Congressional Progressive Caucus, stated that many in Congress who favor a single-payer health care system have compromised to ensure a meaningful public option.

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, voiced her support for a public option, arguing that it would guarantee coverage, give people a choice of doctors and hospitals and give private insurers an incentive to lower costs.

“Health care should not be a privilege as it has been in the past, it is a basic human right,” said Lee. She also specified that the insurance rate in the public option would be the Medicare rate plus five percent.

“We need to lower health care costs. The only way to lower health care costs is by providing competition, and the only way we can provide competition is by having a public option,” said Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.).

Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Mich.) said she doesn't anticipate that any Republicans will vote for a bill with a public option, but added that their votes aren't necessary in order for a bill to pass.