Barbara Lee, Congressional Out of Poverty Caucus Call on President: Invest in Projects That Better Country, Put Americans to Work
Washington, D.C.– As President Obama prepares to present a national plan for job creation to a Joint Session of Congress, the Congressional Out of Poverty Caucus sent a letter to the President urging him to use this opportunity to address the needs of low-income families and those families facing or living in poverty. The letter urged the President to meet our national moral and economic obligation to help the most vulnerable survive this severe economic downturn. Signed by Caucus Co-Chairs Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA), Congressman Joe Baca (D-CA), Congressman G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), and Congressman Michael Honda (D-CA), the letter urged the President to present a bold plan of direct investment in the programs and projects that not only better our country, but put Americans to work.
Many Americans are experiencing poverty who never expected to be in such a place, directly affected by the Great Recession and the high levels of unemployment that swept across the country affecting all socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, and educational backgrounds. The Great Recession has been a Great Depression for communities of color. The national unemployment rate is stagnant at 9.1% after the month of August – but increased from 15.9% to 16.7% in African American communities. The national average of children living in poverty in America is 20%, compared to 36% for African American children and 31% for Latino children. The median net worth of a white family in 2009 was 20 times greater than that of the average black family, and 18 times greater than the average Hispanic family.
“After attending town hall meetings, job fairs, and public forums, I have heard from and directly met with real people and real families as they looked for work,” said Congresswoman Barbara Lee. “There is a level of despair and struggle that I have never seen before. It is critical that these messages are brought directly to the halls of Congress and the White House. Leaders in Washington have spent too much time and energy focused on deficit reduction and playing political games, and now is the time to create jobs, target economic inequality, and fight against poverty. OUR NATION’S JOB CRISIS IS A NATIONAL EMERGENCY.
Specifically, the Caucus requested that any jobs plan going forward maintain the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, maintain the emergency extension of unemployment insurance benefits, extend unemployment benefits by 14 weeks for the long-term jobless workers, initiate a work-share program to substitute shorter hours for layoffs, and expand programs supporting federal summer jobs, national service, and targeted federal on the job training.
“We must prove that our country is capable of providing pathways from poverty to prosperity – FOR ALL,” said Congresswoman Lee. “America’s strength has been her ability to empower people to provide for themselves and their families, breaking the cycle of poverty and unemployment. As Americans begin to recover from a devastating recession and begin again to create a personal safety net, it is incumbent on our President to reach out to the less fortunate, support those that are struggling, and work together to create pathways out of poverty.”
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September 6, 2011
The Honorable Barack Obama
President, United States of America
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear President Obama:
As you work to create a jobs plan which will address the needs of workers and those seeking work across this country, it is important to both recognize and remember our moral and economic obligation to help low-income families and those families facing or living in poverty.
As Co-Chairs of the Congressional Out of the Poverty Caucus, we are writing you to remind you that many Americans are facing poverty who never expected to be in such a place, brought to their knees by the Great Recession and the high levels of unemployment that swept across the country affecting people of all socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, and educational backgrounds. The unemployment rate has left 13.9 million people out of work (6.2 million of whom are long-term unemployed) for every job opening there are currently 4.4 unemployed workers. Worse yet, these numbers do not include those people across this country which have given up on trying to get a job or those who are underemployed. Right now, communities of color and young people have a higher unemployment rate than the national average of 9.1 percent: African Americans have an unemployment rate of 16.7 percent, Hispanics have an unemployment rate of 11.3 percent, and young people ages 16-19 have an unemployment rate of 25.4 percent. This data, combined with the ever-widening wealth gap between whites and African American and whites and Latinos as documented by the Pew Research Center, illuminate the urgency with which you much act to help our nation’s most vulnerable populations
We encourage you to make your jobs plan big and bold. Our nation’s job crisis is a national emergency and requires significant investment in the programs and projects that not only better our country, but put Americans to work. While we believe that the investment could and should take many forms, we urge you to include these key programs and proposals in your upcoming jobs package which will support low-income people and grow our economy:
- Restore the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Contingency Fund, which immediately assists families in need across this country.
- Maintain the emergency extension of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits, which ensures that those jobless workers are able to afford basic necessities like food and shelter.
- Extend UI benefits by 14 weeks for those long-term jobless workers who have exhausted their 99 weeks of UI benefits, which would immediately be spent on necessities and spur demand in our economy.
- Expand targeted federal on the job training programs which can be rapidly scaled-up in those communities hit worst by the Great Recession, most often communities of color.
- Expanding federal summer job programs, national service programs, and other programs which support, train, and focus on youth.
- Initiate a work-share program would subsidize wages at firms that manage to substitute shorter hours for layoffs.
Our nation’s job crisis is a national emergency, and we look to you to present a bold package of direct investment which is aimed at our nation’s most vulnerable – those facing or living in poverty. As we stat