Barbara Lee, Congressional Progressive Caucus Present Plan to Rebuild American Dream
Contact Kristal DeKleer (202) 225-1882
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) issued the following statement at the Congressional Progressive Caucus press conference:
“While I am pleased that the President made a strong case for his bill last week, I certainly think that we need to go bigger and bolder. After touring the country and listening to the American people on this summer’s Speak Out for Good Jobs! Tour, the Congressional Progressive Caucus is determined to rebuild the American dream.
“Today, we present the Rebuild the American Dream Platform, a comprehensive effort to put Americans back to work. The six principles outlined in the platform address three key ideals: In America, every good worker deserves a good American job. America should work again for people who work for a living. Working Americans should use their strength in numbers to counter corporate dollars.
“We need to invest in workers, provide targeted relief to the most vulnerable struggling to get by, and give the economy the jolt it needs. Too many Americans have exhausted their 99 weeks of unemployment benefits we must provide another 14 weeks of benefits, not only providing an immediate injection into our economy, but increasing demand and creating jobs. Communities of color continue to carry the burden of higher unemployment rates than the national average of 9.1 percent. African Americans have an unemployment rate of 16.7 percent and Latinos have an unemployment rate of 11.3 percent. We need immediate and DIRECT investment for the communities hit hardest by high unemployment.
“While there is no one way to go about creating jobs and growing our economy, the Congressional Progressive Caucus will continue to lead the way on helping our most vulnerable who have been hit the hardest by the Great Recession. “
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Follow Barbara Lee on Twitter @RepBarbaraLee