[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 49 (Monday, March 31, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H1805-H1810]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS MESSAGE HOUR
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 18, 2007, the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Jones) is recognized
for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure this
evening to have an opportunity to stand in the well of this wonderful
House of Representatives on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus
and our Chair, Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick.
This evening I will be joined by several of my colleagues to talk
about the black community, the African American community, and the
economy and the impact that this downturn in the economy has had on the
African American community.
Before I go to that subject matter, I just want to take a moment. One
of the things that we have an opportunity, as Members of Congress, to
do is to travel all around the United States, meeting people who say,
oh, we watch you on television, we've seen you on television. And the
fact is this weekend I had the opportunity to be in Orlando, Florida,
on behalf of my sorority, Delta Sigma Theta. And I met one of the
finest families in Orlando, headed by Janet McDowell-Travis and her
husband, Michael Travis, son Jordan, who is 10 years old, who drew me
this really, really nice card, Janet's mother, Vergnoustene, my soror
as well, and Janet's aunt, Aunt Romelda. So, I just want to take a
moment this evening, Mr. Speaker, to have an opportunity to
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say hello to that McDowell-Travis family and say to them, thank you so
much for making my weekend in Orlando so great. And hopefully I'll have
another chance to see you in July, when I come back to Florida for our
national convention. Hi, everybody. Hope you're doing well.
Back to the reason that I'm here on floor to talk about the
Congressional Black Caucus message hour, the declining economy and its
impact on the African American community.
General Leave
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, let me begin by seeking unanimous
consent that my colleagues have 5 days in which to revise and extend
their remarks, to allow other Members to have the opportunity to submit
their remarks in writing. In fact, I have in my hand a signed statement
by my colleague and good friend from the great State of Texas, Eddie
Bernice Johnson, which I will choose to submit for the Record.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Ohio?
There was no objection.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Let me begin with a quote. ``At the bottom of
education, at the bottom of politics, even at the bottom of religion,
there must be economic independence.'' Booker T. Washington from 1903.
These words, spoken more than a century ago by one of our foremost
African American thinkers and educators, perhaps might be more relevant
today than they were in 1903.
For far too long, the current administration has danced around this
issue, hoping that it would go away. But it is time that we state the
truth. Our economy is in decline. Today, hardworking African American
families are struggling to make ends meet in this slowing economy.
Wages are flat, prices are high, and for many, jobs are hard to come
by.
These problems are even greater in the African American community.
Unemployment rates for African Americans are consistently almost double
for white Americans. The median family earnings of full-time African
American workers is consistently over $130 less than white workers who
are similarly educated and situated.
The poverty rate for African Americans is almost double the national
poverty rate, 24 percent versus 12.5 percent. And more than triple, 33
percent versus 9.8 percent, for children under the age of 18.
Home ownership for African Americans is 48 percent compared to 72
percent for white Americans. And African Americans are more than two
times more likely to have been denied a mortgage, and more than two
times more likely to receive predatory loans.
In this most recent research around foreclosures, it has been shown
that African Americans who, in fact, qualified for prime mortgages
were, in fact, steered to subprime mortgages, predatory loans because
the advantage for the lender was greater, they could make more money on
the predatory subprime loan than they could on a prime loan.
Minority-owned businesses received only 57 cents of each dollar they
would be expected to receive based on the percentage of ``ready,
willing and able'' businesses that are minority owned.
The Congressional Black Caucus remains committed to economic
empowerment in the African American community. This includes, but it is
not limited to:
One, eradicated employment discrimination and ensuring the employment
of a diverse workforce by employers in the private sector and in
government, including staff of committees and Members of Congress.
Two, protecting the rights and working conditions of all employees.
Three, providing support to enable people to work, such as child
care, transportation, health care, job retraining and a living wage.
Four, promoting the advancement of African Americans into management,
executive and director positions.
Five, providing equal access to capital for individuals and
businesses, and the elimination of redlining and predatory lending
practices.
Six, expanding affordable rental and ownership of housing.
Seven, achieving aggressive minority business goals and participation
in government and private contracting.
So, tonight you will hear from various members of the Congressional
Black Caucus as we discuss the many economic problems facing the
African American community, as well as our plans to address those
issues.
If I can go back to my experience in Orlando this weekend. I had an
opportunity to participate in this wonderful ceremony involving 10
young African American men and women that were juniors and seniors in
high school. And the experiences and backgrounds of these young men and
women were just fantastic. And one of the things I reminded them of
was, no deposit, no return. I talked to them about, we used the
expression, birds of a feather flock together, and that eagles do not
fly with sparrows. And I suggested to them that they needed to be
eagles so that they could fly far above and do more. But even in the
midst of all of flying higher, doing more, in an economy like we are
experiencing today it would be difficult for these young men and women
to be successful.
So, I'm going to take a break for a moment and yield to my colleague
and good friend from the great State of California, the honorable
gentlewoman from California, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, such time as
she may consume.
Ms. LEE. Let me thank the gentlelady for her leadership and for
yielding and for organizing these very important special orders, also,
really, for reminding us tonight of much of this unfinished business of
our great country, and laying out the glaring disparities that we're
witnessing in the African American community; but also, what our
economic empowerment agenda is of the Congressional Black Caucus. So,
thank you, Congresswoman Tubbs Jones.
Millions of Americans are one paycheck, that is, if they have a
paycheck, away from poverty. Now, the numbers speak for themselves. Gas
prices are at record levels, averaging, in my district, $3.73 a gallon,
even as oil is traded at over $100 a barrel and big oil companies are
reaping in record profits. Foreclosures have skyrocketed, putting
hundreds of thousands of people out on the street. The American dream
of homeownership is quickly turning into a nightmare for many
hardworking individuals and families in our country.
In my district, in Alameda County, we are projected to lose nearly
4,700 homes to foreclosures due to the subprime mortgage crisis,
eliminating $3.2 billion in home equity value. That's equal to a drop
in home equity by almost $8,500 for each homeowner in my district.
Meanwhile, food prices have risen, squeezing recipients of food stamps
even as the number of people expected to enroll in the program will
reach a record 28 million people in the next fiscal year.
Health care costs are going through the roof, even as this
administration is posing massive cuts in funding for Medicare and
Medicaid, and African Americans continue to be the hardest hit. As of
February 2008, the unemployment rate for African Americans was over 8.3
percent, nearly double the national average of 4.3 percent. Among the
African American community, poverty rates are 2.5 times higher than the
national average. Even more disturbing, almost 40 percent of African
American children under 5 years of age live in poverty. And all the
while, African Americans continue to be the target for, as we talked
about earlier, subprime loans.
African Americans are three times more likely to have a subprime loan
than whites, accounting for 52 percent of all subprime loans. And as
the housing market has collapsed, estimates indicate that African
Americans alone will lose between 164 to $213 billion in home equity
value during this recession.
It's long past time for Congress to address the burden of this
economic downturn on the African American community and other
communities of color and address the ongoing lack of opportunity in
minority communities in America. Even in the face of this massive
housing crisis and impending recession, growing unemployment and the
highest number of applicants for food stamps since the program's
inception, the Bush administration wants to cut funding, mind you, cut
funding for the most vital programs so that he can continue to fund his
failed occupation in Iraq. This is partly due to Iraq, billions of
dollars that have been spent,
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this economic downturn. I personally call this ``The Iraq Recession.''
At nearly half a trillion dollars, the occupation of Iraq and the
resulting Iraq recession has wasted too much of American treasure,
drained too much of our American resources, and most importantly,
claimed too many American lives. And we cannot dismiss the toll that
this occupation has had on the economic security of our Nation and on
the average American family who will feel the impact of these expenses
for years to come.
The Joint Economic Committee estimates the total bill for the war
through 2008 will cost the typical family of four a full $16,500. Can
you imagine what a family of four can do with $16,500? This conflict
has claimed the lives of more than 4,000 brave members of our Armed
Forces and has resulted in injuries to more than 28,000 others.
Five years after the invasion and occupation of Iraq, 47 million
Americans are living without health insurance, 47 million. And more
than 36 million people continue to live in poverty, at least 2 million
of which have fallen into poverty since 2003.
Five years later, it is projected that more than 2 million American
families will lose their homes to foreclosure, primarily over the next
2 years. And worse, as the demand is increasing for programs serving
children, the elderly and the poor, and those facing the loss of their
income, more than half of our States face serious budget shortfalls
that will force them to cut back or even eliminate programs that serve
the most vulnerable of our populations.
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So, Mr. Speaker, we must address the needs and the will of our
country by bringing an end to this occupation and to the immeasurable
costs that will continue to be exacted on the physical and economic
security of the American people for generations to come.
Forty-one years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King was, as he said,
``compelled to see the war as the enemy of the poor and attack it as
such.'' Of course Dr. King was referring to the Vietnam War. But his
understanding of the relationship between the vast sums spent dropping
bombs in a foreign country, and the resulting lack of funding for
programs that relieve hunger and poverty are just as true today as they
were back then, especially now with this economic downturn.
A recent survey revealed that 68 percent of Americans believe that
ending the war and occupation in Iraq is an important step the United
States Government must take to respond to the current economic
recession. So we must put an end to this occupation, and we must fund a
real economic stimulus plan that expands unemployment assistance and
food stamp benefits, provides housing assistance and foreclosure relief
for homeowners, and expands Medicaid payments to States through the
Federal medical assistance percentage.
We need to pass a real bankruptcy reform bill. I believe this one
that we're working on now is H.R. 3609. It's called the Emergency Home
Ownership and Mortgage Equity Protection Act of 2007, that will give
struggling homeowners a fighting chance to stay in their homes.
We've got to reauthorize and realize that HOPE VI is an important,
important housing initiative, and pass H.R. 3524, to finally stop
putting an end to predatory lending. And instead of spending billions
to bail out Bear Stearns, we should really be investing that money to
train our workforce and to expand green jobs and eradicate poverty.
So as we remember 3 years ago, Hurricane Katrina served as a real
rude wake up call to the Nation and the continuing inequality that
plagues minority communities, especially the African communities in
America. Katrina opened the eyes of many Americans about the continuing
burden of poverty that often isolates and traps generations of
Americans of color, African Americans, in a cycle of poverty and
disenfranchisement. So we cannot ignore the legacy of Katrina, nor can
we ignore the legacy of Dr. King's words.
So this week, as we approach the 40th anniversary of Dr. King's
assassination, let us all make a commitment to honor his vision and his
life's work. We must end this occupation of Iraq, and we must enact a
real economic stimulus plan, so that the American people can move
forward, take care of their families, come out of this downturn and
really begin to live the type of life, the quality of life that they so
deserve in the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world.
Thank you, Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, for giving us the
opportunity tonight to talk about the real suffering that people are
feeling; but giving people some hope that there are many here in
Washington, D.C. on the battlefield trying to turn this around.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. I want to thank my colleague, Congresswoman
Barbara Lee, for her leadership, and hope that she will decide to hang
around a little while with me as we go through a few more issues. If
you can't, I absolutely understand.
I want to go back to the housing crisis for a moment. The loss of a
home is both devastating for the family and the community. For a
family, owning a home is often their only piece of the ``American
Pie.'' The equity from owning their home is often the only means to
secure funding for a new business, college tuition or retirement. For
the community, increased foreclosures often turn neighborhoods that
once were vibrant into neglected, blighted areas which ultimately raise
costs for local governments.
In the State of Ohio alone, 90,000 homes are in foreclosure. In fact,
one of the things that we often talk about is that working class
families usually pass their biggest asset from 1 generation to the
next, and that is a house. So not only are we devastating the income
and wealth of this generation, we may well be devastating the income
and wealth of future generations.
Predatory lending is the leading cause of the foreclosures across
this country. And I need not go on and on about the issue, but let me
just point out a few statistics.
The Nonprofit Center for Responsible Lending projects that as this
year ends, 2.2 million households in the subprime market will either
have lost their homes to foreclosure or hold subprime mortgages that
will fail over the next several years. The real dilemma that many of
the families face is the amount of mortgage that they own on the home
far exceeds the real value of the home.
Additionally, only about 1.4 million of 15.1 million loans analyzed
from 1998 through 2006 were for first-time home buyers. Most were
refinancing. And all of us got those calls from people calling up, Mrs.
Jones, you have a unique opportunity right in your community to
refinance your home, and this program is just for your neighborhood.
And a lot of people got fooled by those calls. To date, more than
500,000 of those subprime borrowers have lost their homes to
foreclosure. An additional 1.8 million are likely to follow as the
market deteriorates. That's nearly 2.4 million lost homes.
And predatory lending has expanded its reach beyond mortgage lending.
Predatory practices are becoming increasingly prevalent in refund
anticipation, auto and payday loans. There were over 12 million Refund
Anticipation Loan borrowers in 2003. In other words, anticipating what
your income tax checks would be, people borrowed on those tax checks.
Tax preparers and lenders strip about $1.57 billion in fees each year
from the earned income tax credits paid to working parents, according
to the 2005 study by the National Consumer Law Center.
And imagine what the new programs are going to be as we come up with
these rebates that the President has proposed for working families in
order for us to shore up Wal-Mart or Target or one of these other
stores. In fact, I think it is pretty scary that we are now going to
try and shore up the economy by taking the money of people who have
worked hard for it.
I bet that many people are going to pay attention; they're not going
to stick it back in the economy. They, in fact, may in fact put it in a
savings account or try to make some money on behalf of their families,
or pay off an existing debt.
In December, the Congress enacted the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt
Relief Act which, for 3 years, stops the tax on phantom income when a
lender forgives some part of the family's mortgage in foreclosure.
Under prior law, the debt forgiven following mortgage foreclosure or
renegotiation was considered
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income for tax purposes, resulting in a tax liability for individuals
and families meaning, at a time when people were down and out, they
were then required to pay tax on something that was forgiven by a
lender. It was crazy, and thank God this whole Congress understood the
impact, and we passed that legislation.
In December, the Congress included $180 million for housing
counseling in the Fiscal Year 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Bill to
assist many distressed homeowners who are trapped in unaffordable loans
in avoiding foreclosure on their homes.
The Economic Stimulus Bill, which the President will sign this week,
increases the FHA loan limits up to $729,750 to expand affordable
mortgage loan opportunities through the FHA for families in danger of
losing their homes. This was done because in areas like the area in
which Congresswoman Barbara Lee lives in, housing, middle income
housing costs as much as $800,000 to $1 million. In Cleveland, an
$800,000 home would buy you a lot of house, but not California.
Both the House and Senate have passed an FHA reform bill which would
enable FHA to serve more subprime borrowers at affordable rates and
terms to attract borrowers that have been turned to predatory lenders
in recent years.
The House has passed a mortgage lending reform bill which cracks down
on predatory lending, making sure that consumers get mortgages they can
repay, strengthening consumer protections against reckless and abusive
lending practices, and giving consumers the ability to seek redress.
I have to say that in 2001 I introduced the Predatory Lending
Reduction Act, and this act was focused on mortgage brokers. And the
reason I focused on mortgage brokers was because mortgage brokers were
not licensed, they were not required to be registered. They were not
required to give notice to a purchaser or a borrower that they were not
representing that borrower; they weren't their agent. They were not
required to tell the borrower that they were going to get a percentage
or a commission on the loans that they made. So you had a lot of
mortgage brokers operating out here without any licensing, without any
registration, without being required to give notices to, like banking
persons, to borrowers. So it was very important for us, and that was
included in the Mortgage Lending Reform Act, number 3915.
In October, the House passed the National Affordable Housing Trust
Fund Bill, 2895, which establishes a trust fund, at no cost to the
taxpayer, to build or preserve 1.5 million affordable homes or
apartments over the next 10 years. The trust fund is financed by fees
paid by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and by increased FHA loans.
The fact is that we have needed a national affordable housing trust
fund for many, many years and finally, in 2007, 2008, we have one
that's available.
At this time, if my colleague is interested, I'd like to yield to her
for some additional commentary, Congresswoman Barbara Lee.
Ms. LEE. Thank you. And you know, as I was listening to your very
clear presentation, Congresswoman Tubbs Jones, I kept thinking of all
of the people who really believe in the American dream, who want to
send their kids to college, who perhaps may want to start a small
business and who know and recognize that the path to wealth in our
country is through home ownership. And now, given that the equity has
just about eroded, their dreams being shattered.
You know, most Americans don't play in the stock market. You know,
the only way they can acquire wealth is through home ownership. The
only way they can live the American dream is through leveraging the
equity in their homes to realize some of their dreams. And now, given
this fiasco that we're experiencing, so many people will not realize
their dreams. And so the legislation that you mentioned and more that
are being talked about and introduced, will, in many ways help stop the
hemorrhaging.
But, you know, we have to look at this not only in the short-term
perspective, but also the long term has to be addressed. And some of
this has to do with the deregulation of the financial services
industry. And we really need to look at some regulatory reform also in
the long haul to make sure that this never happens again. It's almost
been the ``Wild West'' in terms of the financial industry.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. I'd like to thank my colleague. There are just a
few more things that I'd like to point out and point to, and if there
is another person coming behind me with some, a special order, I would
suggest that we should probably be finished in about 15 minutes.
I, first of all, would like to focus in on some of the legislation
I've been working on around wealth building, because one of the most
difficult things for families in the downturn of an economy is to try
and put aside savings. And one of the things that we see happening
right now in our country are a number of companies that are closing
down, and people are placed in a situation where they are now being
required to retire and they're being given lump sum benefits in order
to lessen the weight or the impact that the retirement has on them.
And as a proponent of wealth building, I've been working on a couple
of pieces of legislation in that area. One of them is the Retirement
Security for Life Act.
Last year I, along with Congressman Philip English, a Republican from
Pennsylvania, reintroduced the bipartisan tax legislation that would
encourage Americans to select life annuities and ensure requirement
security. The Retirement Security for Life Act provides a tax incentive
available to all retirees when they elect to receive a guaranteed
stream of income for life from their annuity. The bill will exclude
Federal taxes on half of the income generated by the annuity, up to a
maximum of $20,000 annually. For the typical retiree, it would provide
a tax break of up to $5,000.
The bill is designed to help Americans who have savings maintain
their pre-retirement standard of living. Research indicates that many
future retirees, including an estimated 77 million baby boomers, will
have difficulty maintaining an adequate standard of living. By
providing incentives, the Retirement for Security for Life Act will
encourage Americans to invest in their own retirement.
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The periodic payments from a life annuity would guarantee income
throughout retirement as a complement to Social Security and pension
benefits. A life annuity provides beneficiaries with guaranteed
lifelong monthly payments. After-tax dollars, such as the proceeds from
the sale of a house or small business, can be used to purchase the
annuity. Income from employers' sponsored plans that already enjoy a
tax advantage, such as IRAs and 401(k)s, are not eligible. This
bipartisan legislation encourages Americans to select lifetime annuity
payments, thereby generating a steady income for life and helping them
manage their savings.
One of the limits that happens when people receive a lump sum is it
seems like a lot of money at the time when you receive it, but it very
easily wanes away by the time you lend your cousin $2,000, your son
$5,000, your aunt or uncle a couple of dollars, and that $50,000 is
gone very quickly. And that is one of the reasons that I'm encouraging
our Retirement for Security for Life Act.
Another piece of legislation is called Savings for Working Families
Act. This legislation was introduced, and it's H.R. 1514. It provides a
tax credit to financial institutions that match the savings of low-
income families through individual development accounts, or IDAs. The
individual savings in an IDA are matched on a one-to-one basis, up to
$500 per person per year; although, personal contributions into an IDA
are not limited. The match only goes up to $500. It is a unique way and
a great way that we could have low-income families begin to understand
the importance of saving and receive a match for their dollars.
Thousands of working families across the country currently take
advantage of IDA matched savings and asset accumulation. They are run
by community-based organizations in partnership with a qualified
financial institution that holds the deposits. IDA funds can be used
for college and post-secondary education, purchasing a home or starting
a small business. Those who save in IDAs also receive financial
planning
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education. Nationally, 500,000 Americans are presently enrolled in 500
IDA programs. In the State of Ohio, nearly 5,000 benefit from 15 IDA
programs.
The goal of the Savings for Working Families Act is to encourage low-
income families to save.
Cleveland's Save program, which is a program in the City of Cleveland
where I live, is a national social marketing campaign that encourages
individuals, particularly low and moderate income, to save. It was
launched in 2001 in the City of Cleveland. America Saves now has 53
local and State national campaigns which include locations in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; San Diego, California; and New York State.
More than 1,000 nonprofit organizations participate. They recently
celebrated American Saves Week, which is a new and expanded effort
which is aimed at reaching more institutions.
Let me now give any further time to my colleague and friend,
Congresswoman Barbara Lee.
Ms. LEE. Let me applaud you for laying out these very important and
very thoughtful bills. Hopefully, people who are listening to the
Special Order tonight will understand the importance of them and ask
their Members of Congress to support them because they actually should
be passed and signed into law.
Also, I think it's important that we recognize tonight we are talking
also with regard to the Congressional Black Caucus' economic
empowerment agenda, and what you have laid out is central to an
economic empowerment agenda of the African American community
throughout our country, but also, in addition, we have talked a lot
about the disparities and why we have to have this economic empowerment
agenda because we are still faced with many, many disparities in health
care and education and economic development.
And when you look at the African American business community and the
lack of capital, when you look at the small business administration and
the type of problems and difficulties we have had over the years, you
can see that, in many ways, many of the initiatives that have begun
over the years that would have helped during this economic recession
have been just about cut out. So it is about time we go back to the
drawing board and regroup and not only resurrect some of the strategies
that actually work but come forth with new legislation such as we are
talking about tonight.
So, in closing, I just want to thank the Congressional Black Caucus,
again under Congresswoman Kilpatrick's leadership, for making sure that
the overall agenda of the CBC is put forth every Monday night under
Congresswoman Tubbs Jones' leadership, because this is so important. In
fact, we were in recess over the last couple of weeks, and I ran into
many, many people who thanked us for getting the word out, sounding the
alarm, providing the information with regard to what we are doing here
because so often, the American people, the public, our communities,
have no idea what type of legislation is being proposed to help with
some of the burdens that they are forced to bear at this point in our
history.
The $16,500 I mentioned earlier that this Iraq occupation is costing
the American people, just think of what they could do with $16,500. And
so I have to say, part of what we have to continue to do is to try to
end this occupation, end this $3 trillion that's being projected with
regard to the war in Iraq and make sure that immediately the American
people though can realize some benefits from their tax dollars and also
make sure that we can expand unemployment compensation and food stamps
and just help them survive through this until we can do something big
and something that makes their lives much better.
Thank you again.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. I want to associate myself with the comments of
my colleague with regard to ending the war in Iraq and the devastation
that it has had not only on more than 4,000 families but as well as the
economy of America and the infrastructure of America. All you need to
do is pick up a paper any day and see that in any city there is a
bridge that's fallen down, there's a sewer that's blowing up, there's
streets that are in trouble, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. And I
want to close on this particular note.
It is so important to the improvement of this economy and the status
of America that we make sure there are good-paying jobs that come back
to America. I keep hearing these discussions about, well, there are
jobs, and there are not people in America who want to do these jobs.
That is not correct. There are good, hardworking people. The people of
America work harder than people in any other country. They have less
vacation, less time off, and they work very, very hard.
The dilemma that's faced is the offering of jobs that do not pay good
salaries; that do not, in fact, provide appropriate benefits. And the
people of America are going to want go to work, and the innovation
agenda that was passed last fall in this Congress and signed into law
by the President speaks to some of those issues.
And it is so important that we do things to improve the education of
our young people so they are better qualified to work on jobs, and that
was done through the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2008.
It is also important that we encourage young men and women to go into
the sciences. The statistics show that, in 2000, only 4 percent of the
science and engineering jobs in the United States were held by African
Americans. Nearly 40 percent of Americans under the age of 18 are
African Americans or other minorities. So we need to do more and more
and more to encourage young people to go to college to be able to get
the kind of degrees where they can get a great job such as we talked
about with the children in Orlando in the Eminence Program.
And finally, we need to support and strengthen small businesses. Two-
thirds of American jobs are supported, are given by small business, and
we need to encourage small business to continue.
African Americans own an estimated 1.2 billion small businesses with
annual revenues of more than $88 billion. Legislation enacted in 2007
included provisions cutting taxes for small business by $4 billion over
the next 10 years. And the economic stimulus package also speaks to
those issues as well.
I want to close with this. The Congressional Black Caucus is
tirelessly working on issues that are important to the African American
community but as to the greater community as well, and the economy is
the issue that's in the forefront of everybody's mind right now,
regardless of their color, regardless of their background. And this
evening, it was our job to point out to America, those of you listening
here on C-SPAN, to the issues that are facing the African American
community and the economy and to help people understand that, if it
hits the greater community in one way, it doubly impacts the African
American community.
And on behalf of my colleagues at the Congressional Black Caucus and
our Chairwoman, Carolyn C. Kilpatrick, I'm pleased to close this
message hour out and thank the Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, for the
opportunity to present.
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, for millions of
American families it is becoming more and more difficult to make ends
meet. Our economic outlook is grim in light of the recent housing
crisis, fluctuating interest rates, and increasing prices. Working
Americans are feeling a serious squeeze on their family finances,
because for too long, Republicans and this administration ran up big
deficits and ignored priorities here at home.
With the economy continuing to decline, African American households
are suffering disproportionately. In 2006, African Americans were two
times more likely to get high-cost subprime loans. In my district, more
than half of loans given to working Americans were subprime; of these
loans, 80 percent were African American. One in six resulted in
foreclosure; this is unacceptable.
In 2007, the Democratic led Congress passed an increase to the
minimum wage, but this does not help Americans who cannot find jobs.
The African American unemployment rate has climbed from 8 percent this
fall to 9.2 percent in January, with 1.6 million African Americans
currently looking for work.
I applaud the Congressional Democrat Leadership for their rapid
agreement on an economic stimulus package to aid families across
America. While I feel that this stimulus package is a step in the right
direction, I am disappointed that there was no aggressive plan for job
training programs such as: adult education and literacy, welfare-to-
work, and vocational education.
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As a senior member of the House Science Committee, I feel it is
important to invest in our children's futures. This Congress has led
the fight to address access to higher education, enrichment programs in
STEM fields, advancement in educational programs for minorities, and
spur critical research and development to meet the needs of the
country. Education is the foundation to building a better and brighter
future for all Americans.
Mr. Speaker, honest, hard-working men and women are struggling to
make a decent living as they go about their daily routines. The
economic disparities of African American and other minorities are truly
hurting this country. I am hopeful that the President will join this
Congress to help find long-term, comprehensive measures as opposed to a
temporary bandaid to our economic problems.
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