[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 15, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H1799-H1800]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 2011

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Jackson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, the greatest threat to our 
democracy is unemployment. We all know the numbers. We all have far too 
many constituents who don't have jobs and can't provide for their 
families.
  Too many Americans are without work, and more and more of them are 
losing hope. Unemployment benefits are running out. Fear is creeping 
in. But for some of the unemployed, their tireless job search has been 
coming up empty because some employers won't even consider them for 
openings.
  Recently, The New York Times reported that one employer listed a job 
that included the caveat: ``No unemployed candidate will be considered 
at all,'' and a Texas electronics company said that it won't 
``consider/review anyone not currently employed, regardless of the 
reason.'' It is reminiscent of a time when signs read: Blacks need not 
apply, or Women need not apply.
  Mr. Speaker, I think it's high time that we fix that. How are the 
unemployed supposed to find work if they don't even get considered for 
a job? How do we expect the unemployment rate to go down when the 
unemployed aren't even available or allowed to compete for a job?
  Along with Congressman John Lewis, I'm introducing legislation that 
will amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to make it illegal for 
employers to discriminate against applicants because they are currently 
or were currently unemployed.
  The Civil Rights Act of 2011 will not give a job to those who are 
unemployed, but it will give those who are unemployed through no fault 
of their own the opportunity to compete for a job on the merits of 
their ability.
  Mr. Speaker, we talk in pleasantries and political correctness about 
``these difficult economic times.'' We debate policy and hold hearings 
on how to move America forward, but recently the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics had to modify its current population survey to be able to 
include responses reporting a duration of unemployment over 2 years.
  We are making room for the reality of chronic unemployment in America 
in very real ways, while promising it will get better. I think we need 
to do more to make sure that people have opportunities.
  Nearly 9 percent of Americans right now are unemployed. That's 13.9 
million Americans that we represent as Members of Congress who are 
looking for the opportunity to pursue the American Dream. They are 
looking for Washington and to Washington for leadership and to keep 
things from getting any worse.
  They are writing our offices begging us to help them jump-start 
America. They are not just looking for a hand out. They are looking for 
a way out, just a chance so that they can take care of the rest. They 
are hoping that the next interview will mean a new start.
  Mr. Speaker, the job market is troublesome; but we cannot allow 
companies to arbitrarily pick who will come out of the economic crisis 
by disqualifying unemployed workers. It should not be their right to 
discriminate this way.
  We, as a Nation, face triumphs and challenges together. It seems to 
me that to allow such a practice is counterintuitive to everything that 
Congress is working towards. Why create jobs if those Americans 
currently without jobs are not eligible?
  Just because an individual was unlucky to be laid off or had the 
misfortune to graduate into a jobless market does not mean that we 
should just cast them aside.
  This employment practice adds insult to injury for Americans who are 
desperately looking for jobs, for college graduates who debate if their 
education was worth the cost, for families who are trying to make more 
on less.
  Those who live on Main Street of America had very little to do with 
the onset of our economic crisis. In response, they are doing what 
generations before us have taught, carrying on, hoping that the 
darkness will give way to light.
  Mr. Speaker, if we allow employers to block consideration for those 
who are unemployed, we let that light get a little dimmer. We allow the 
American

[[Page H1800]]

Dream to be tarnished. We send a message to the American people, those 
who are currently unemployed and those who are one bad break away from 
unemployment, that we will bail out banks but not support them as they 
fight to take care of their families.
  The Civil Rights Act and the amendments that have followed 
demonstrate what makes America exceptional. Here, regardless of the 
color of your skin, the god you pray to, your ethnicity, your age or 
sex, you will be judged on your performance. We haven't always lived up 
to our principles, but it is the collective momentum towards these 
values that makes America great.
  Discrimination against any American is an affront to the very idea of 
America. A new class of citizen now needs protection from the 
superficial bias that is not based on the ability to perform. Using 
current employment status as a requirement for application or 
consideration is shameful.
  There are 13.9 million Americans currently unemployed; that means 
13.9 million Americans are considered by some employers to be no longer 
viable for employment. They are dismissed out of hand.
  But, Mr. Speaker, I refuse to believe that every unemployed 
individual is unqualified for a job. It is an arbitrary way of 
narrowing an applicant pool by finding a loophole that allows 
discrimination.
  I ask each and every Member of Congress to stand with me and to say 
to those 13.9 million Americans who are unemployed, you are not 
forgotten, your chance has not passed. We should pass the Civil Rights 
Act of 2011. We should not allow the opportunities that all Americans 
deserve to be taken away. Current joblessness should not disqualify you 
from employment. Your ability is more valuable than any label ever 
placed upon you.

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