Date: 2011-10-03
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. for the past 40 years the Congressional Black Caucus. has earned the reputation as the conscience of the Congress by providing a voice for the voiceless and fighting for the forgotten. This summer. we worked diligently to live up to and maintain our reputation. To address unemployment and the need for job creation solutions in underserved communities. the Congressional Black Caucus called upon private and public sector partners to immediately remedy the crisis by going into communities with legitimate. immediate employment opportunities for the underserved with the "For the People" Jobs Initiativewhich included nationwide town halls and job fairs. During the month of August. nearly half of the Congressional Black Caucus traveled the country and saw firsthand how unemployment continues to devastate our communities during the "For the People" Jobs Initiative. Nearly 30.000 people from all walks of life attended CBC Jobs Initiative events in Cleveland. Detroit. Atlanta. Miami. and Los Angeles. Given the substantial coverage of the events. our nations citizens will have great difficulty saying they were unaware of the suffering of millions of unemployed Americans. Like us. they too saw the lines wrapped around city blocks with hopeful citizens searching for a job opportunity to provide economic security for themselves and their families. We all know that job fairs and town halls are not sufficient to address the jobs crisis. however. it is a small step in the right direction. The unemployment numbers released in August demonstrate that there is a significant hemorrhage in the African American community that is not being addressed. which has resulted in extremely high job loss. Overall unemployment remains stagnant at 9.1 percent while unemployment in the African American community has risen dramatically from 15.9 percent to 16.7 percent. Well into the 112th Congress. the Congressional Black Caucus continues to urge the Republican Leadership to address unemployment in any meaningful way. We cannot afford to watch a segment of our community suffer from depression level unemployment. hoping that overall solutions will trickle down and fix the problem. It is clear that method will not work. Therefore. the Members of the CBC unanimously cosponsored and introduced the Congressional Black Caucus "For the People" Jobs Initiative Resolution (H. Res. 348) to urge the House of Representatives to immediately consider and pass critical jobs legislation. Additionally. CBC members have introduced over fifty job creation bills since the beginning of the 112th Congress. launched a national jobs initiative. and provided nine job creation proposals targeting our nations most vulnerable communities in this document. We believe that through Creating. Protecting. and Rebuilding those who have suffered relentlessly from our countrys great recession would be granted another chance at perusing the American dream. We stand at a critical point in our nations history. The time for bold action on jobs is now. Every American has the right to be gainfully employed and CBC Members will not rest until there is equality in access to jobs and economic opportunity.