"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.”


House Democrats, County Reps Push Jobs Growth At The Local Level

By Sofia Sanchez University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

A collection of House Democrats and the National Association of Counties urged Congress and the Obama administration Wednesday to support the Local Jobs For America Act, a piece of legislation intended to spur job growth at the local level.

“This critical piece of legislation will help put people to work by allocating funds directly to local communities to stimulate job creation in the public and private sector,” said the association's President-elect Glen Whitley.

If passed, the bill will provide communities $100 billion over the next two years to prevent businesses and local governments from being forced to cut jobs.

"We need more than just Wall Street improving, we need the jobs on main street,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.).

In March, Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), who chairs the Education and Labor Committee, said that the legislation would create or preserve nearly 1 million jobs.

Data released earlier this month shows that 167,000 jobs were added to the labor force last month, marking the strongest job growth since the recession began in December of 2007.

New Legislation Seeks To Spur Job Growth At The Local Level

Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) introduced legislation Wednesday aimed at spurring job growth at the local level.

"[The Local Jobs for America Act] Will save or create 1 million public and private sector jobs in local communities across the country," said Miller during a conference call with reporters. "This is a bill for Main Street, not Wall Street."

Once passed, the bill will provide communities $100 billion over the next two years to prevent businesses and local governments from being forced to cut jobs.

"In most cases local officials either raise taxes or lay-off workers when facing the kind of budget crisis they face today," said the California Democrat.

Miller explained that it was not yet decided whether the bill will be joined with the Senate's jobs legislation or passed separately, noting that it would be left to the discretion of Congressional leaders.