[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 23, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E203-E204]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          NATIONAL JOB CRISIS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 23, 2010

  Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, I submit the following letter:
                                                February 19, 2010.
     Hon. Nancy Pelosi,
     Speaker of the House, House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Harry Reid,
     Majority Leader, U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid:We write on 
     behalf of the broad civil rights and human rights communities 
     to urge swift action on a national crisis that is affecting 
     us all. Unless we resolve our national job crisis, all of our 
     other priorities--from reforming health care and fixing our 
     broken immigration system to expanding economic opportunity 
     for all Americans--are in real jeopardy. In our neighborhoods 
     and communities, people are calling for bold action to 
     rebuild the economy.
       A recovery plan is needed that rescues Americans from job 
     losses and foreclosures, and that lays the foundation for a 
     more prosperous future for all. The lack of decent jobs, the 
     fear of losing the family home to foreclosure, and the 
     particular impact of both of these problems on minority, 
     tribal, and poor neighborhoods are pushing people to the 
     breaking point. In addition, people with disabilities, who 
     have had historic high levels of unemployment, need relief. 
     The economic and health care crises are inextricably linked 
     as job loss causes the loss of health insurance coverage, 
     leaving families one medical crisis away from bankruptcy and 
     foreclosure.
       Wall Street received the helping hand it needed, but the 
     American people are still waiting. It is time to require Wall 
     Street to do its fair share to rescue, restore and rebuild 
     our cities and neighborhoods. Main Street is hurting, and the 
     banks and the federal government must do their part to help 
     turn the economy around in ways that all families can see and 
     feel.
       The House has passed a jobs bill that is awaiting action in 
     the Senate. In his State of the Union address, President 
     Obama urged the Senate to act quickly on it. We join the 
     President's call to Congress, and strongly urge the House and 
     Senate to enact bold legislation that provides immediate 
     relief to people who are out of work and employers that are 
     unable to maintain their workforces. As included in the House 
     legislation, it is critical that substantial fiscal relief be 
     made available to help stabilize State and local governments, 
     and to preserve essential services and safety net programs in 
     our communities and the jobs of tens of thousands of workers 
     around the country. Similarly, and again as included in the 
     House legislation, the extension and improvements to our 
     Unemployment Insurance program and help with COBRA premiums 
     as enacted in the ARRA must be extended at least through the 
     end of 2010.
       Of equal importance, and as urged by the Congressional 
     Black Caucus, among others, the final legislation must 
     provide tools for ensuring that stimulus funds go to the 
     places and people most in need, especially those regions 
     where homeowners were targeted by unscrupulous mortgage 
     lenders and where job loss has been higher than average. 
     Accordingly, we urge Congress to adopt legislation that 
     provides for:


    (1) Fast track creation of jobs in the public sector that serve 
                         community-level needs

       Appropriate $40 billion a year for two years to create 
     employment opportunities for unemployed and underemployed 
     residents of distressed communities. Under this proposal, the 
     Department of Labor would administer grants to states, local 
     governments, and Indian tribes. Five percent of funds would 
     be reserved for Indian tribes and discretionary grants, 30 
     percent would be allocated to states to be re-granted to 
     small localities, and the remaining funds allocated to 
     metropolitan cities and counties under the Community Block 
     Grant formula. Implementation would occur in two phases. The 
     first phase would fast-track job creation for nine months in 
     public service-oriented work projects. The second would 
     provide job creation on projects that serve areas with the 
     greatest economic need, integrate education and job training, 
     coordinate with apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship 
     programs, and provide job opportunities in sectors that offer 
     high growth and the prospect of long term employment. These 
     initiatives must be designed so that they maintain existing 
     wage and benefit standards and do not displace existing jobs 
     or simply exchange one group of unemployed workers for 
     another. A number of models for public employment have been 
     proposed, including H.R. 4268, the Put America to Work Act of 
     2009, sponsored by Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN).
       Invest $1 billion to hire workers to maintain and 
     rehabilitate abandoned and foreclosed properties in 
     neighborhoods by appropriating a second round of funds for 
     the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). Under this 
     proposal, at least 30 percent of new NSP jobs would be 
     required to go to economically disadvantaged job-seekers, 
     prioritizing hiring workers with low-income and low levels of 
     education, and those not currently receiving UI. At least 30 
     percent of hires would be required to be low-income residents 
     from the areas in which projects are funded.
       Provide a work sharing tax credit, as proposed by Rep. John 
     Conyers (D-MI) in H.R. 4179, the ``Shortening Hours and 
     Retaining Employees (SHARE) Credit Act of 2009,'' which would 
     minimize layoffs and incentivize new hiring. The tax credits 
     would be used to pay firms to shorten the typical workweek or 
     work year, while keeping pay constant. This would lead 
     employers to hire additional workers to make up for the fewer 
     hours worked by their incumbent work force. A rough estimate 
     is that this tax credit would create a net total of 1.3 to 
     2.7 million jobs. Funding work sharing would be cost-
     effective and efficient, and would very quickly make a big 
     dent in the unemployment rate.
       Extend through FY2011 the time during which states and 
     localities are allowed to use existing TANF Emergency 
     Contingency Funds, which can be used to create subsidized 
     jobs, as well as to improve access to cash assistance and 
     other one-time assistance for low-income families. These 
     funds were authorized in the ARRA, and under current law, 
     all funds must be spent by the end of FY2010. In addition, 
     as proposed in the President's budget, additional funds, 
     at least $2.5 billion, should be made available in FY2011.


 (2) Immediate investment in the infrastructure of schools and public 
                                transit

       Provide $20 billion for school maintenance and repair, with 
     funds allocated in accordance with the ESEA Title I formulas. 
     According to the Economic Policy Institute, this could 
     generate 250,000 skilled maintenance and repair jobs. In 
     addition, provide $50 billion in capital funds for the 
     lowest-income school districts.
       Prioritize investments in public transportation, including 
     regional systems that connect housing, jobs, and local 
     services to improve access to healthy foods, medical care, 
     and other basic services. Create clear guidelines to ensure 
     that communities with high unemployment and poverty rates are 
     served, and expand on language in the ARRA by creating strong 
     accountability and enforcement measures tied to achieving 
     equitable economic benefits.
       Both programs should include safeguards to ensure that job 
     creation results in widespread impact for all workers. For 
     example, contractors receiving federal dollars should ensure 
     that at least 15-30 percent of project work-hours are worked 
     by local residents who are lower income, people of color, 
     women, or who are otherwise underrepresented in the 
     construction industry. Where joint apprenticeship programs 
     are located near a project, contractors should have to 
     maximize the use of registered apprentices who receive 
     quality training. One percent of all dollars for 
     infrastructure investment should be dedicated to creating a 
     pipeline of workers ready to step into apprenticeship 
     programs and construction careers. The Secretary of Labor 
     should be authorized to ensure that public agencies and 
     contractors receiving federal funds utilize Community 
     Workforce Agreements.


                     (3) Prevention of foreclosures

       Allocate $10 billion of appropriated TARP funds to HUD to 
     provide fixed-rate, low-interest loans to unemployed people 
     facing foreclosure who don't qualify for other a assistance. 
     This program would be modeled on a successful effort by the 
     Pennsylvania-based Homeowners' Emergency Mortgage Assistance 
     Program (HEMAP). If a homeowner provided verification of 
     their unemployment compensation to his loan servicer, he 
     would be automatically approved for a loan that would pay any 
     mortgage above 31 percent of family income. Loans would be 
     repayable with interest, but interest would not accrue and 
     repayments would not begin until the homeowner's income was 
     sufficient to allow payment.
       Allow homeowners to rent back their homes at market rates 
     for up to ten years following foreclosure. The program would 
     be modeled after the Fannie Mae ``Deed for Lease'' program 
     that gives former owners the option to lease their recently-
     foreclosed properties and that targets neighborhoods with 
     above-average foreclosure rates.
       Support ``cram down'' provisions to allow bankruptcy court 
     judges to approve changes to mortgage contracts for 
     homeowners in bankruptcy, such as extending repayment 
     periods, reducing interest rates and fees, and adjusting the 
     principal balance of mortgages.
       Implementing our proposals would swiftly stabilize 
     neighborhoods and stem the human suffering in the most 
     distressed parts of the country. While these are temporary 
     investments, all would leave the kind of lasting benefits for 
     homeowners, workers, and students, which would generate long 
     term benefits to the economy and nation. By ensuring

[[Page E204]]

     that recovery and reinvestment programs reach all Americans, 
     we ensure strong economic growth for the nation overall. We 
     stand ready to support you and our President in efforts to 
     build an economy based on shared prosperity for all 
     Americans.
           Sincerely,
       AFL-CIO; American Federation of State, County and Municipal 
     Employees; Asian American Justice Center; American 
     Association of People with Disabilities; Campaign for 
     Community Change; Center for Responsible Lending; Coalition 
     on Human Needs; Communications Workers of America; Demos; 
     Economic Policy Institute; Half in Ten; Japanese American 
     Citizens League; Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under 
     Law; National Association for the Advancement of Colored 
     People; National Congress of American Indians; National 
     Council of La Raza; National Partnership for Women and 
     Families; Policy Link; Service Employees International Union; 
     The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; United 
     Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society; United 
     Methodist Episcopal Churches; United States Student 
     Association; United Steelworkers; USAction.

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