[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 3416-3423]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2115
             JOB CREATION IN THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 6, 2009, the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Fudge) is recognized 
for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.


                             General Leave

  Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 
5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
insert materials related to the topic of this Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. FUDGE. Thank you. The Congressional Black Caucus is proud to 
anchor this hour on job creation in the African American community. 
Currently, the CBC is chaired by the Honorable Barbara Lee from the 
Ninth Congressional District of California. My name is Congresswoman 
Marcia Fudge, representing the 11th Congressional District of Ohio, and 
I anchor this hour.
  Mr. Speaker, I would now like to yield to our chairwoman, the 
Honorable Barbara Lee.
  Ms. LEE of California. First, let me take this moment to thank 
Congresswoman Fudge again for the Special Order tonight, for your 
leadership, and for bringing to the Congress, really, the understanding 
of what unemployment is, given the unemployment rates in your district, 
given what has taken place in Ohio in terms of the recession. Your 
leadership and your commitment to turn the economy around is 
remarkable. We can learn a lot by what you have done in Ohio. So thank 
you again.
  As Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, I rise this evening to 
continuing to sound the alarm about the need to create jobs in America, 
particularly for the chronically unemployed who are disproportionately 
suffering the brunt of this economic crisis and, who, as a result, are 
in desperate need of targeted, concrete, and meaningful relief.
  Last week, members of the Congressional Black Caucus met with 
President Obama at the White House to discuss our job creation agenda. 
It was a candid, constructive, and substantive conversation which the 
CBC had with the President. We reviewed our priorities to create jobs, 
especially for the chronically unemployed.
  We understand very well that President Obama inherited an economy on 
the brink of collapse and all that he and his administration have done 
in working with Congress to hold it together. It has certainly been 
remarkable, and we commend the administration for their efforts. The 
recovery, however, from this economic crisis has been uneven, at best, 
and there is a long way to go to put people back to work.
  The impact of unemployment foreclosures and the housing crisis are 
particularly extreme among African Americans and Latinos. People are 
desperate, as Congresswoman Fudge knows in Ohio. As we try to create 
jobs, States are laying off people in order to balance their budgets. 
California has cut $20 billion out of our budget. Virginia will pass a 
State budget with $4 billion in cuts. If you extrapolate this 
nationally, we are talking about $200 billion State budget cuts 
nationwide, after about $350 billion last year. So we need the $200 
billion this year just to break even.
  Our Congressional Black Caucus member, Congressman Bobby Scott, who's 
on the Budget Committee, continues to remind us of these very glaring 
numbers and how we need a major jobs initiative just to break even. 
That's why the CBC has been and remains laser focused on helping people 
who are chronically unemployed and on direct job creation.
  On Wednesday morning, the CBC will host a hearing focused on job 
creation. The event is called: ``Out of Work but Not Out of Hope: 
Addressing the Crisis of the Chronically Unemployed.'' This will be 
held on March 17 from 9 to 11 in room 2237 of the Rayburn House Office 
Building on Capitol Hill. The hearing will focus on data that suggests 
the chronically unemployed include African Americans and other 
communities of color with unemployment rates significantly higher than 
the national average. Youth and adult workers also are in need of 
enhanced education and training, and those who have lost their jobs as 
a result of the weakened economy and who have been unemployed for at 
least 6 months. Wednesday's hearing is part of a 5-week campaign 
launched by the Congressional Black Caucus at the beginning of this 
month to seek policy solutions for the chronically unemployed. Our aim 
is to engage our leadership and our coalition partners in a strategy to 
put America back to work.
  We are all aware of the staggering high unemployment rates facing our 
communities. In February, the rate of unemployment for African 
Americans was 15.8 percent, compared with 12.4 percent for Latinos and 
8.8 percent for whites. This is according to the Bureau of Labor and 
Statistics' March 5, 2010 report.
  But the job problem goes deeper for many of our constituents and 
communities because African Americans are not only unemployed in higher 
numbers but also stay unemployed significantly longer. Of the people 
who have been unemployed for over 6 months, 20.3 percent are African 
American. For those unemployed for a year or more, 22.1 percent are 
African American. The median duration of unemployment was 23.8 weeks 
for African Americans, and 18.4 weeks for our national average.
  These figures underscore the urgent need to target job creation 
efforts for those communities hardest hit by the recession. This has 
nothing to do with directing resources based on race. This has to do 
with directing resources based on need, based on unemployment 
statistics, and based on where the unemployed live. These stories 
illustrate the reality that many of our communities have been 
disproportionately hit by this recession. That's why we must simply 
prioritize and deliver, and that's what we talked with the President 
about. We said specifically we must focus on chronic unemployment. We 
must have direct and targeted job creation, which can make a real and 
significant impact quickly for everyone.
  For instance, given the unemployment rate of approximately 10 
percent, that's 15 million people, one percentage point of the total 
number of unemployed is about 1.5 million. At $50,000 per job, $75 
billion would hire 1.5 million workers and reduce the unemployment rate 
by one percentage point. For $300 billion we should be able to hire 6 
million workers and reduce the unemployment rate by four percentage 
points below what would have been without any investment at all.
  But it's not just enough to create jobs. We must ensure that we 
include all of our communities in that effort by targeting high areas 
of poverty, unemployment, and the chronically unemployed. Summer jobs 
for young people must be part of our direct job creation efforts. We 
all know that many of our young people have to help pay the rent

[[Page 3417]]

and help buy food because their parents are unemployed.
  We must also invest in infrastructure spending; but when we do so, we 
must ensure a path to apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship 
opportunities in any transportation and infrastructure investments, 
otherwise we're going to leave communities and millions of people 
behind.
  Finally, we must ensure that contracting and procurement 
opportunities for minority and disadvantaged businesses are included 
and that existing provisions in transportation and in other areas are 
enforced. According to the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and 
Ethnicity, which recently released its report on the impact of the 
Recovery Act, black businesses only received 1.1 percent and Latino 
businesses only 1.6 percent of all federally contracted ARRA funds.
  So in closing, Mr. Speaker, members of the Congressional Black Caucus 
are committed to continue to work with congressional leaders and 
President Obama to fix our economy and create jobs to address the true 
depth, mind you the true depth, of this recession. There's no question 
that by working together we can make a real difference in the lives of 
all Americans. So as we work to turn the economy around and create 
jobs, the Congressional Black Caucus will continue to fight to make 
sure that no one is left behind. That is our moral responsibility as 
the conscience of the Congress.
  Thank you again, Congresswoman Fudge. Let me thank Congressman 
Emanuel Cleaver who has led our Jobs and Economic Recovery Task Force 
since last January and has done a marvelous job in doing that and 
getting us to this point.
  Ms. FUDGE. Thank you. I want to thank you as well, Madam Chair, just 
for keeping our caucus focused on jobs and poverty and, of course, 
pushing for the fundamental fairness we all deserve and what is 
expected of all of us in this House. I thank you for your work and for 
your leadership.
  Mr. Speaker, I now yield to my friend, Mr. Cleaver, the 
Representative from Missouri.
  Mr. Cleaver.
  Mr. CLEAVER. Thank you, Ms. Fudge. Thank you for getting this hour 
tonight for us to talk about one of the most significant issues facing 
the American public. And I would also like to thank Oakland's Barbara 
Lee for her leadership. She has been myopic in making sure that not 
only the Black Caucus, but none of the caucuses nor the Democratic 
Caucus stray too far from the main theme that we have been pushing, 
which is that we need jobs, and we need them now.
  Mr. Speaker, there's little question that the economists believe that 
the U.S. economy is in fact in a recovery mode. There are signs all 
around that we are coming out of the recession, but the recession 
continues to take its toll on the American public. We know that jobs 
always lag in the recovery. In fact, if you look at some of the Wall 
Street banks, you will find that many of them actually are showing huge 
profits, some of the top 10 banks--actually, the top 25 banks, some of 
whom received money from the taxpayers to help bail them out.
  And so the question today, when we still have an anemic economy, is: 
Who's going to bail out the American public? Well, what we do know is 
that the jobless rate is now still hovering at about 10 percent. And if 
you break it down, as did our Chair, Barbara Lee, you will find out 
that many African Americans are the ones who are suffering. Why is 
that? Well, it's kind of simple. The weak labor markets in our country 
are in areas where we generally have high black populations. South 
Carolina is one. Michigan is the other. African Americans migrated to 
Michigan to work in the automobile industry. African Americans have 
been in South Carolina almost since 1619, when we came to this land. 
And so it is somewhat misleading to believe that we can address this 
issue of unemployment without some special emphasis on what's happening 
to African Americans who are also unemployed.
  When you just look at the statistics, the economists say that we need 
to create 100,000 jobs a month just to absorb the new people coming 
into the job market. We are not creating jobs. In fact, we have not 
created the kinds of jobs that we need for the last three decades. We 
have not been able to generate a hundred thousand jobs a month.
  I think the President was wise when he submitted to Congress the 
stimulus package. I think Congress was wise, or at least we were wise, 
to vote for it. Because inside this stimulus package is at least the 
opportunity for jobs for all people, but it provides minorities with a 
unique opportunity to connect with what I believe and what many others 
believe to be the next job creator, and that is in the field of energy.
  We have significant dollars placed in the Department of Energy, where 
men and women who are citizens of our country can in fact seek new 
opportunities in that field. For example, I am convinced that in the 
days to come, men and women will call people to come out to do 
weatherization in their homes like they call a plumber today. People 
will call a weatherization specialist, who comes out, he surveys the 
place, he finds where there's a leak, where there's an energy leak, and 
they will seal it up. That's an entirely new arena--a whole new job 
area that we have not had before.
  But it's also important to keep in mind that technology is 
eliminating jobs even as we try and produce them. I used to tell my 
staff members how frustrated I was when I go to the airport, as we all 
do twice a week, and look at the kiosk which all of the airlines now 
have, and the clerks behind the counter will direct you to the kiosk. I 
told my staff, I said, Do you realize what's happening? The people who 
are directing us to use the kiosk to get our ticket are also 
eliminating their jobs.
  It's just a matter of time, Mr. Speaker, before we're going to go to 
airports that are not going to be ``peopled'' by the ticket clerks, as 
we see today. And everybody will simply go use a credit card or some 
special card and they will be able to get their tickets. For most of 
the Members of Congress, most of us go to the airport with our tickets 
in hand anyway, because you can now get your ticket printed on the 
computer. So I think we're eliminating jobs and there's a need for us 
to do something, and do something significant.
  Now there are those who are saying, Look, the job market will take 
care of itself. The markets will always engage in self-correction. That 
is what has gotten us into the economic collapse that we have 
experienced over the last year and a half, is waiting for the markets 
to do the right thing and waiting for some of the institutions that 
were able to function without strong regulations to do the right thing. 
They did not. And they hurt us. And we were hurt perhaps more than any 
other group.

                              {time}  2130

  So what I think we are going to have to do is do a jobs bill, a 
serious jobs bill. And by the way, I was delighted that in our meeting 
with the President last week that he said to us that he strongly 
supports a summer youth jobs program. I thought that was the most 
significant thing that came out of the meeting. Why? Because in about 8 
weeks, schools will turn out all over the United States. Everywhere in 
this country kids will be going home, and these kids this summer will 
be going home unemployed to unemployed parents.
  Now, it does not take a physicist or a nuclear scientist to look at 
that situation and see that it is going to be chaotic at the very 
least, and so we need a summer youth jobs bill, and we need it now. We 
need it quickly so that the bureaucrats can have things in place by the 
time school is out, so that there won't be a long period of time during 
which kids are just aimlessly walking up and down the streets. Because 
we all have been kids, and we all know that we were not at our highest 
level of thoughtfulness and can do dumb things at that age. So I'm 
thinking that it might be helpful if we move that summer youth jobs 
program to the forefront.
  And I am not, Mr. Speaker, convinced that we don't need something

[[Page 3418]]

else. I don't think we need another $876 billion stimulus, but I do 
believe that we've got to do something that would create jobs directly. 
And Paul Krugman, the economist who also is a columnist in The New York 
Times, has suggested--and I agree--that perhaps we need to think about 
the fact that the United States Government can create jobs that people 
can actually use. I'm not suggesting that we need to approve money at 
the level that we did for the WPA during the Great Depression, from 
1929 through the thirties, but I am saying that there can be some kind 
of direct jobs program put in place that will enable folks to get jobs 
quickly. If we don't, we're going to find that this job market is going 
to continue to hemorrhage.
  When you think about the fact, as Congresswoman Lee mentioned 
earlier, that the States are laying off employees, cities are laying 
off employees, by the time we find employment for those government 
workers on the local level who lost their jobs to get some kind of job, 
we still have not done much, because we haven't dealt with the people 
who have been on the unemployment rolls.
  In my committee last week, Ms. Fudge, we had a person who testified 
before the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming 
who said that he was opposed to giving employment insurance. He also 
went on further to say that if you give unemployment insurance, it will 
make people lazy. Now, somebody like me who spent time growing up in 
public housing and heard people saying that welfare people love to have 
babies so they could get another $100 a month is almost laughable, but 
it is also believed by many. So we need to keep in mind that there will 
always be push-back against what we are trying to do.
  But the American public needs to go to work, right now start going to 
work. And most economists believe that unemployment will continue at at 
least 8 percent or higher into 2012. We can't afford to have that size 
of our population without employment. It is dehumanizing when you can't 
take care of yourself, and we're going to find more and more people 
doing what I have seen in Kansas City at the church my son pastors, 
where middle class people, people who were in the U.S. middle class, 
are now unemployed. We have had Ph.D.'s coming to my office, trying to 
get an internship just so they can get in and hopefully get a job. So 
when people say, Well, there are jobs out there for everybody; they 
just need to go and get them, that's absolutely ludicrous. It is 
ridiculous, and it plays the American public as fools, because there 
are real human beings with real families who are losing their homes.
  What people don't realize is, when you lose your job, you can't make 
your mortgage payment. If you can't make your mortgage payment, you 
lose your home. If you lose your home, your credit is ruined. You can't 
buy a car. You can't hardly buy anything. Even today, with an 800 
credit score, you are barely going to be able to buy a new car. So I 
think we are having a recovery, but the recovery is not strong enough, 
and it's not moving quickly enough.
  So, Congresswoman Fudge, I appreciate the fact that this issue--
through you getting this before the American public tonight--is going 
to resonate with a lot of people who are unemployed, but it will also 
resonate, I hope, with men and women of goodwill who believe that the 
American public must always take care of the American public.
  Ms. FUDGE. I want to thank my friend, Mr. Speaker, for just saying to 
us in a clear and concise way that it is time to be honest about where 
we find ourselves as a Nation, and that it is important that people be 
given an opportunity, just an opportunity--not a handout, an 
opportunity--to find work because, if we don't, we will have more 
problems than we can ever imagine. Not only does it take a toll on the 
wallet and on your home, but on your physical and on your mental 
health. So I certainly do hope that we will take heed to the things 
that were said by our Chair tonight as well as by Representative 
Cleaver and start to move in a direction that is going to positively 
impact the people of this country. I thank you both for being with me 
tonight.
  Mr. Speaker, the CBC believes that stable employment at a fair wage 
is a fundamental right for all Americans. In times of economic 
weakness, such as this recession, government should empower our 
Nation's workforce by providing training and placement opportunities 
for dislocated workers. During the month of March, the CBC will engage 
in a 5-week campaign to seek policy solutions for the chronically 
unemployed, engaging President Obama, Congress, and the coalition 
partners in a strategy to put Americans back to work.
  The chronically unemployed are not counted by labor statistics, Mr. 
Speaker. They are not counted in the Workforce Investment Act, which is 
designed to get people back to work. Congress inadvertently sent them a 
message that they don't count. But they do count, and they want to 
work.
  The CBC's agenda, Opportunities for All--Pathways Out of Poverty 
focuses on six areas: education for low-income communities, increasing 
the reach of economic security, eliminating health disparities, 
providing affordable housing options, reforming our judicial system to 
break the cradle-to-prison pipeline, and addressing global poverty. 
During tonight's Special Order, Chairwoman Lee discussed with you some 
of the progress we've made in our efforts in this endeavor. If you wish 
to receive additional information or ask for updates, you can email the 
Congressional Black Caucus at congressional black 
[email protected].
  I want to just talk a bit about some of the things that you've heard 
tonight but maybe in a different way. We know that national 
unemployment is somewhere around 9.7 percent. There are currently 15 
million people seeking employment in this Nation, up from 7.5 million 
in December of 2007. There are 2.5 million people out of work, and 9 
million are employed only part time rather than the full-time 
employment they prefer and need. With the unemployment rate at 9.7 
percent, U.S. labor market conditions are certainly grim. We all, I 
think, can agree with that.
  The unemployed who have been out of work and searching for a new job 
for at least 6 months remains at a record high, at or above 27 percent, 
and hitting a record 41 percent in January of this year. If we examine 
unemployment rates by demographic information, you will see proof of 
the inequality of which we speak tonight. While all major groups have 
experienced substantial layoffs during this downturn, communities of 
color, particularly African Americans and Hispanic Americans, are 
experiencing the worst of these job losses.
  According to the Department of Labor, although the national 
unemployment rate was 9.7 in February, the rate for African Americans 
was 15.8 and the rate for Hispanics was 12.4. Not only is the 
unemployment rate for African Americans nearly twice that of 
Caucasians, the gap in some important demographics has widened rapidly 
over the past 14 months. Over those months, the unemployment rate for 
Caucasian college graduates under 24 years of age grew by about 20 
percent. The rate for African Americans in the same demographics grew 
by almost twice that much.
  Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that the gap in 
unemployment rates for communities of color is widening. As a result, 
minority children and families are entering poverty at an increasingly 
alarming rate. More than 24 percent of African Americans live below the 
poverty level and are 55 percent more likely to be unemployed than 
other Americans.
  As then-Candidate Obama said in a speech during the Democratic 
primary, ``Race is an issue that I believe this Nation cannot afford to 
ignore right now.'' In a speech to the Hispanic Caucus Institute 
earlier this year, President Obama said that when unemployment reaches 
over 10 percent among Hispanics, that was not just a problem for them, 
it was a problem for the Nation. We believe it is the same for African 
Americans. The Congressional Black Caucus, in its continued role as

[[Page 3419]]

the conscience of the Congress, has a moral obligation to address 
inequality and injustice as never before in our history.
  And I have been joined by my colleague and my dear friend from 
Minnesota (Mr. Ellison). How are you, sir?
  Mr. ELLISON. Doing all right. If the gentlelady will yield, let me 
just point out that the gentlelady coming down here Monday after 
Monday, speaking to the Nation about the agenda of the Congressional 
Black Caucus, is so meritorious. I salute you. Thank you.
  But I just want to say that, look, jobs are an essential component of 
a good quality of life; and lack of a job not only means you don't have 
any money, it means that your life is not ordered well. It means that 
you are living a life where you want respect, you want to be 
productive, you want to make something, create something and put some 
value into the world, but yet, because you don't have that employment 
opportunity, you're denied that.
  When we talk about a direct creation of jobs, yes, we're talking 
about stimulating demand; we're talking about putting money and food on 
the table, but we're talking about giving people a sense of value, of 
worth, a sense of purpose. And you know what? That's one of the best 
things you can do for anyone.
  This is absolutely true, that in the black community, unemployment 
levels are elevated three times the national rate. And as the 
gentlelady from Ohio pointed out, President Obama's right when he says 
that making sure that the black, brown, and people of color throughout 
America are working is good for the whole country, because if people of 
color have money, they spend it. Where do they spend it? In the 
economy. And if somebody spends money, then that means that somebody's 
making money. And if somebody's making money, that company can use that 
money to then hire somebody else. So this circular interconnected 
nature of the economy tells us that opportunity for one means 
opportunity for all.
  I just want to yield back to the gentlelady because I just want to 
thank you again. I'm going to stick with you, but I want you to know 
that I want to commend you for your service and your fidelity and your 
persistence and your commitment.
  Ms. FUDGE. I thank you so much.
  I just want to say that in addition to some of the things that you 
said is that I see our job as making sure that we protect all 
Americans. That includes us. I see our job as a Congress, as a 
governmental body, to protect the people who sent us here. I believe 
the job of government is to serve its people; and until we do that, 
we've not done an effective job. So that is why it is so important that 
we continue on this path to make sure that all Americans who want a 
job, who need a job, have the opportunity to find a job.
  I mean, certainly we're not going to ever create the kinds of jobs 
that many of us had as we were growing up. I mean, our parents had jobs 
they kept for 30 years. They've got good retirements. They still can 
afford to pay their bills. Those days may be gone for many people in 
this country, but I think it is our responsibility to make sure that 
people can provide for their families, that people can live in a decent 
home. I think the bare necessities are something that we should 
guarantee that all Americans can receive.

                              {time}  2145

  Mr. ELLISON. Well, if the gentlelady would yield back, I would say 
that, you know, the days of high wage, the high-wage sector can come 
back if we have a national commitment to manufacturing, and we don't 
take the position that manufacturing is something that happens overseas 
or something that your father or grandfather did.
  Manufacturing is what young people today can do. We can make the 
windmills. We can make the solar generators. We can do retrofitting on 
buildings and manufacture the tools to make them more efficient. We've 
got to just be a little bit more creative. We can make cars in Ohio and 
in Michigan and Minnesota and all over this country in a way that is 
fuel efficient so consumers want them. We can do these things.
  As a matter of fact, the American automakers are late to the game, 
but they've started to make fuel efficient cars. We need to make sure 
they continue to do that.
  I yield back to the gentlelady.
  Ms. FUDGE. The one thing that you said that is just so very true--if 
at some point we don't start to make things in this Nation again, we 
are never going to dig ourselves out of this hole. I mean, you talk 
about the middle class. I'm from Ohio that has been hit especially 
hard, one of the biggest manufacturing States in the United States. We 
made our living making cars, clothes, widgets, whatever they were; we 
made a living manufacturing.
  But what has happened over the last few years? I mean, we've lost 
more than 60 percent of our manufacturing. And a lot of it did go 
overseas--there's absolutely no doubt about that. And then the other 
thing is it became more high tech, and so people were not then 
retrained to maintain those positions. A lot of it became automated, 
and so they downsized. But we have taken significant losses. In our 
State alone we lost more than 200,000 manufacturing jobs over the last 
2 years. So we have to find a way to get those people back into the 
work force.
  I yield.
  Mr. ELLISON. Well, the gentlelady is right. I mean the fact is the 
high-wage sector has been the manufacturing sector historically. And 
there's really no reason that America cannot make great things. Like I 
said, the solar panels, the windmills, the things that--the fuel 
efficient vehicles. There's all kinds of things in the tech area. We 
need training, and we need the government to invest in an industrial 
policy, a manufacturing policy that says, hey, you know what? We're 
going to make sure America makes things. Let's get the label ``Made in 
America'' stamped on some stuff again, just like it used to be. It can 
be.
  And let me just tell you. We need to address manufacturing policy. We 
need to address trade policy. But this time around, when we rededicate 
ourselves to manufacturing, let's not say that it's only for some; 
let's say it's for all. Let's not say it's green for some; it's green 
for all. Let's not say that the manufacturing renewal is for one group, 
one segment of the community; let's say it's for all segments of the 
community. And let's invest in making things again in Ohio, in 
Minnesota, in Michigan, in Florida, and Texas, and all over this 
country.
  And let's also say that we can work in our educational system where 
we can make manufacturing and creativity a value system all over again. 
So see, this thing is connected to how we educate our youngsters. We've 
got to say, you know, STEM--science, technology, you know, math, and 
we've got to get into the schools, and we've got to make sure that that 
curriculum is available for all the kids.
  Ms. FUDGE. Will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. ELLISON. Absolutely.
  Ms. FUDGE. I think you just really hit the nail on the head. We have 
to, at some point, prepare our young people for a job once they leave 
high school. All children are not going to college. We have to prepare 
young people to be able to do something when they leave high school 
because really all college does is prepare you to work anyway. So we 
need to prepare all young people to work as soon as they leave high 
school. And the only way to do that is to start to train them in the 
new green technologies, in the weatherization programs that we've put 
out there, to put them in positions where they can sit at a computer 
and do manufacturing jobs, where they can assist people who need help, 
maybe if it's just training them to do other things.
  We can put in windows. We can build homes. We can do so many things. 
But young people have never been geared in a direction to think about 
work after high school. We just keep talking about college.
  And I think college is important. I am a very, very strong proponent 
of education, and I am passionate about education. But the reality of 
our lives is that less--that fewer young people,

[[Page 3420]]

especially young people of color, are going to college. And if this 
trend continues with their parents unemployed, with them not being able 
to find jobs themselves, then that number is going to continue to 
decrease. So we do have to address that in a very, very, serious way 
and in a very timely manner.
  Mr. ELLISON. If the gentlelady would yield back, I'd also say, you 
know, America's crumbling. You know, in Minnesota, August 1, 2007, we 
had a bridge collapse. I-35 collapsed. It went over the Mississippi 
River, and it fell into that river. We lost 13 Minnesotans. They lost 
their lives. And 65 people--no, 100 people--had back injuries as they 
fell 65 feet.
  You know what? I bet you in Ohio and Minnesota and Michigan we've got 
more potholes than we can shake a stick at. We need--our buildings are 
crumbling, our infrastructure is crumbling. We need to put broadband 
all over this country. We need to rebuild in America. It's not like 
there's not enough work to do. It's not like, oh well, everything's 
done and nothing needs to be maintained or made. We need to rebuild 
America. There's enough work to be done; we've just got to get about 
doing it.
  And so I just want to point out, you know. Don't be thinking that 
there's not work in America, you know. We've got work to be done here.
  And you know what? I just want to draw another point out, Mr. 
Speaker, and the gentlelady from Ohio. You know, the fact is I was 
walking along the Cedar Lake in Minneapolis, and if you're not from the 
Twin Cities you may not know about Cedar Lake. It's the land of 10,000 
lakes. We've got lakes everywhere. You can hardly walk anywhere without 
stepping in one of them.
  And I was walking along a trail at Cedar Lake, and I sat down at a 
picnic table, and it was a sturdy table. And I sat there, and I ate 
some chicken or something. But when I got up I saw a little plate on 
that table and it said, WPA 1934. That table was made by another 
generation when Americans were out of work, Americans of all colors.
  This time we've got Americans out of work again. And at that time, 
that generation responded to the needs of employment and to the needs 
of the country to be built up, and we can't do any less in this day and 
in this time and in this age. We need a WPA-style, CCC camp. We need 
direct government job creation to help work ourselves up out of this 
recession.
  And let me tell you, when the economy finally turns around, we're 
going to have some picnic tables that people in 2050 are going to be 
sitting on. We're going to have some trails that people in 2050 are 
walking on. We're going to, you know, have some bike paths that people 
are on. We're going to have some stronger bridges. We're going to have 
some broadband cable laid so people can talk all over this country and 
be on the computer.
  So I yield back to the gentlelady. This is a vision we need to pursue
  Ms. FUDGE. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Let me just take that 
WPA one step further. I happen to have given a speech in Memphis, 
Tennessee, on Saturday, and had found out that over the 8 years WPA was 
in existence in the State of Tennessee, more than 240,000 people were 
hired. Those people built the stadium, the zoo, the juvenile center. I 
mean, there is so much that still exists.
  And I also want to take the training part one step further. We're 
going to have to do more targeted training. I come from an area that, 
in my opinion, has the best health care in the world. But there is a 
shortage of nurses; there is a shortage of primary care physicians; 
there is a shortage of technicians. There is a shortage of people to 
just--orderlies, cooks, I mean, everything that you can think of that 
goes into a hospital or a community center, there is a shortage.
  We have community colleges. We have some of the best educational 
institutions. Why are we not focusing more on filling in for the 
shortages that we need? Because the jobs are there for them to take.
  That's what we need to be focusing on as opposed to some of the 
things that, in my opinion, are not going to be especially helpful. I 
certainly believe any skill you have can help. But if we know jobs are 
available in the health professions, then we need to be focusing on 
health professions. If we know the jobs are available in steel, which 
we don't have a lot of anymore, but we still do have some of those 
things, let's train in those areas because I think we've got the 
training money.
  We put all this training money into the Recovery Act. Let's make sure 
that once we spend it, the outcome is going to be what we want it to 
be.
  I yield.
  Mr. ELLISON. Well, I thank the gentlelady for yielding. I'm glad you 
mentioned steel. Now you know there is no reason in the world we can't 
make more steel in America. In Minnesota we make steel. We've got 
taconite mines in Minnesota. It's in an area called the Iron Range, and 
we make steel. And you know what? We make some of the highest quality 
steel in the world. And if you really want to make something that's 
going to have to last and the steel that's going to have a lot of 
integrity, this is the place you want to get the steel from.
  Yet, we're making bridges and roads all over this country importing 
the steel from other places. Let's make the steel here. Let's adjust 
our trade policy to make sure we've got a fair, even, level playing 
field
  Ms. FUDGE. Will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. ELLISON. Yes, ma'am. Yield back.
  Ms. FUDGE. You've talked about infrastructure twice, and I think it's 
so significant, because one of the things that we know we need across 
this Nation is to shore up our infrastructure. We know we need to do 
it.
  We need more apprenticeship programs for young people to learn how to 
build roads and bridges. We need more apprenticeship programs to teach 
people how to paint bridges, to repair bridges, or to lay asphalt and 
concrete and steel and rebar, whatever it is that we need to do. That 
is happening all across this country. And we need to make sure that 
there are programs in place for young people to learn how to do those 
jobs because they are well-paying jobs. They are jobs that they will 
have for a lifetime because there's always, as you say, from our 
communities, we're always going to be fixing roads, and we're always 
going to be fixing bridges.
  And so I think it's really important that we start to try to say to 
these people that it's important that this be an opening for young 
people to get into these trades.
  I yield back to the gentleman.
  Mr. ELLISON. Will the gentlelady yield for a question?
  Ms. FUDGE. Yes, I yield.
  Mr. ELLISON. Do you think that the Congressional Black Caucus has a 
vision for America to put America back to work? And do you think that 
constituents of all colors, all faiths, all cultures, can be trained to 
do the work that needs to be done to rebuild America?
  Ms. FUDGE. Will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. ELLISON. Yes, ma'am
  Ms. FUDGE. Without question. There is no doubt in my mind that if the 
plan we have presented, not only to the President, but to other Members 
of this body, to other institutions and agencies that we have worked 
with and collaborated with, we have come up with something that I think 
is a can't-miss, and I do, in fact, believe that it is time for our 
plan to be reviewed and to be moved forward. I mean, we have a good 
plan. We can put people back to work. And I just hope that others, our 
colleagues, will join with us in making sure we do that
  Mr. ELLISON. Will the gentlelady yield for another question?
  Ms. FUDGE. I yield to the gentleman.
  Mr. ELLISON. So the plan that the Congressional Black Caucus is 
offering, it's not just a plan for African Americans; it's a plan for 
the whole country, is that right?
  I yield to the gentlelady.
  Ms. FUDGE. Absolutely, you're right. And I thank you for yielding. 
The only thing that I would say about this plan is that this plan not 
only talks about

[[Page 3421]]

how we get all Americans back to work, but it also says to us, how do 
we get those people who have been unemployed for so long or those 
people who are in such pockets of poverty that they don't have the same 
opportunities, how do we lift them to the same level as all the others?
  Mr. ELLISON. Will the gentlelady yield back?
  Ms. FUDGE. I yield to the gentleman.
  Mr. ELLISON. So that kind of vision, that is the kind of thing that 
we need more of around here. The Black Caucus does believe, you know, 
that we--that opportunity doesn't know a color, doesn't know a culture, 
doesn't know a faith, that we all have to do better when we all do 
better, and that we, America, must make sure that we're tapping the 
talents of everyone, whether that person is an African American person, 
living in the inner city, or a rural area, or a suburb, or any person, 
that we can't leave our talent behind.
  We don't know where the answer to curing cancer is. It might be 
locked up in the mind of a little Black girl in Cleveland somewhere, 
and she just needs some development of her talents. Does the Black 
Caucus believe that's true?
  Ms. FUDGE. Will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. ELLISON. Yes, ma'am.
  Ms. FUDGE. In this global economy in which we live, we need every 
single American to bring that which they are good at, that which they 
have trained for, worked for, that which they know, because if we 
don't, then we are going to start to find ourselves not being the 
number one Nation in the world anymore. We're not going to be the 
Nation that brings forth all of the new technology, all of the new 
research, all of the new things that we know are going to move and 
drive this country. So I think it is imperative that every single 
individual, and we know every individual has worth, but we certainly 
need to say to them, whatever it is that you can do, we need it as a 
Nation. That is what's going to make us strong. That is what keeps the 
chain strong. I think that we are in a place where we just must 
continue to work with every single person in this Nation.
  Mr. ELLISON. If the gentlelady would yield. I just want to offer the 
idea that, you know, so tonight we are talking, it's the Congressional 
Black Caucus hour, we're talking about jobs for Americans. We've talked 
about infrastructure. We've talked about manufacturing. We've talked 
about the need to address trade policy. We've talked about a 
progressive vision that the Congressional Black Caucus is offering for 
America to address joblessness, but also long-term joblessness.
  But also, I think we should make a mention that we're relying on our 
small business and entrepreneurs to help get into this fight and get 
people employed again as well. And that's why I was very pleased to 
hear certain members of the Congressional Black Caucus raise an issue 
with the President regarding streamlining and loosening up the SBA to 
make sure, because if we can get the small businesses into this, 
they're going to hire quicker than some of these big businesses are.

                              {time}  2200

  A lot of big businesses, when they hire somebody they are going to 
just give the people they already have overtime. And they are going to 
give the people they already have, make them work more hours often. And 
that is why we often see employment as a lagging indicator even when 
the GDP is improving.
  But if we can get the small businesses to get some loans, that might 
be something that can really spark up the economy. So I was very 
pleased to hear Chairman Bennie Thompson make this point, because I 
think small business development has got to be a key strategy we pursue 
in getting America back to work.
  I would yield to the gentlelady.
  Ms. FUDGE. You are absolutely right. But the one thing we have to 
stress is that small business growth, that is where most of our people 
are employed. We know how important it is, but it has to be fair. We 
have to do it fairly.
  For those people who might be watching us for the first time, do 
understand that we don't represent just African Americans. We don't 
represent just minorities. There are very few of us in this entire 
caucus that represent just African Americans. I don't know of any. So 
no one should feel that we are excluding any other group of people. We 
want all of our people in need to be served by what we do.
  So it is important that we talk about small businesses, that we talk 
about contractors and how they are handled and treated in this country, 
minority and non-minority. We talk about women-owned businesses. We are 
advocating for all of them to be treated fairly and equally as we dole 
out the resources that we think are going to help bring this country 
back. So I thank you for mentioning that, because we do represent so 
many people. We represent all people.
  Mr. ELLISON. If the gentlelady would yield, I only have about 10.2 
percent of my constituents who are African American. I would say 
clearly 80 percent of my constituents are white. We have a diverse 
community. We have new Americans, we have Latinos, we have different 
people from Russia coming into our community. We welcome them. The 
Black Caucus is made up of African American members. This is rooted in 
the 1960s. But the truth is there are a lot of people who are white in 
the U.S. Congress who represent a great deal more black people than I 
do.
  So we always have a focus on what is good for the whole country, what 
is good for America, persistently unemployed. But it is also true that 
our country does have a particular history as it relates to 
opportunity. And when we work for opportunity for all people, it 
enhances America, makes America better, and also helps people who have 
been on the more challenged end of the lack of opportunity. So this is 
something that we stand up for.
  I yield to the gentlelady.
  Ms. FUDGE. Thank you. I am very proud to say that I probably 
represent one of the most diverse districts in this House, and I am 
very proud of that. What I know, though, is that the people who have 
the least are the people who need me the most. So I do focus more on 
the poor, I focus on children in need, I focus on the hungry. But so do 
all of the other people in my district, which makes me so proud. When 
you look at how we pull together to try to help the neediest people, 
all of us as a district, that is what has so impressed me about all of 
the people that I serve. So we all, I think, really understand the 
necessity of pulling up and helping our neighbor. And I am very proud 
that I represent people such as that.
  I yield back.
  Mr. ELLISON. The gentlelady is right. We have dynamic districts. You 
know, we have got a lot of smart people in the districts we represent, 
good ideas coming from all places all the time.
  In fact, even this morning I was lucky enough to talk to some people 
representing the business community, listening to some of their good 
ideas. They were telling me some of their views about how we might be 
able to generate some employment. And, actually, these are folks who 
work in small businesses, but also some Fortune 500 companies. All of 
them, I am proud to say, want to help deal with this job gap we have.
  One of them pointed out and said, look, you know, we used to say that 
5 percent unemployment was a natural rate of unemployment. But, in 
fact, some economists say it is going to be 7 percent unemployment is 
going to be the natural rate of unemployment. It would be a shame if we 
tolerate that. We need to be the people who fight that and say, look, 
we are trying to get every American who wants to work a job.
  Let me yield back to the gentlelady. And I see we are joined by one 
of my favorites.
  Ms. FUDGE. Thank you for yielding. I am going to make this comment, 
and then I am going to yield to our colleague from Texas.
  I do want to say that certainly there is some recovery going on in 
this country. We just don't want for people who need it the most to be 
left out of it.

[[Page 3422]]

  And I thank you so much, Representative Ellison, for sharing this 
time with me. I am always impressed by your passion. I am always 
impressed by your ability to articulate your position. And I thank you 
so much.
  Mr. Speaker, I would now yield to my colleague from Texas, the 
gentlelady from Texas, Ms. Sheila Jackson Lee.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. I thank the Congresswoman from Ohio. And I 
rushed back because I was listening to you and this debate on the floor 
of the House. Let me bring you greetings from NBC-LEO, which is the 
component of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials, city 
council members and many mayors. And I mentioned you and Congresswoman 
Barbara Lee, who I know was already on the floor, and Congressman 
Emanuel Cleaver and others that came.
  Let me add to the cry and the desperate need for work for the 
chronically unemployed. This is a time when we must focus on this 
effort. I met with my local governmental agency that receives Federal 
funding, and they are begging not only for the chronically unemployed, 
which they are familiar with, but summer youth jobs. And this is the 
work of the Congressional Black Caucus, to focus on those who have been 
left along the wayside.
  We are grateful for the leadership of this President that understands 
the value and importance of making sure that everyone has a job. I 
stopped calling the Recovery Act ``stimulus.'' I call it an investment, 
an investment in people. I don't let anyone tag me with a stimulus 
bill. Stimulating. It is investing. It is building roads and bridges. 
It is putting people back to work.
  We want to make sure that those people who have been unemployed for a 
long period of time, who still have hope, who still have abilities to 
be able to work, want to make sure that those who have paid their time, 
who are rehabilitated, who have families, who may have had a, if you 
will, a start that wasn't the best start, may have deviated from the 
straight road but are now trying to ensure that their families are 
taken care of, ex-felons, should be able to have training.
  We want to work with unions to ensure that they open vastly the 
opportunities for people to be trained in apprenticeships. And we want 
to make sure that small and minority businesses, who in fact are the 
backbone of this economy in terms of employment, get the opportunity 
through our transportation infrastructure rebuild to be able to both 
participate in the contractual process of rebuild and then at the same 
time go into our communities and build.
  I want to say also that the faith community can be a real partner to 
us. They can be the sources of recruitment. I have spoken to my pastors 
in my own congressional district. They are eager to work with us to 
provide resources and sites and populations of those who can be 
employed.
  This is a crucial effort that the Congressional Black Caucus is 
initiating, our day on Wednesday when we will be speaking, in essence, 
truth to power, where we will be talking about the chronically 
unemployed, summer youth jobs, and public jobs. Maybe we cannot do the 
WPA as we did in World War II, but we can have a focus to ensure that 
there is an opportunity for every single American to have a job.
  And I would say in closing that the challenge is not hard, because we 
are talking about census tracts. And census tracts have people from all 
walks of life. They are Caucasian, they are Latino, they are African 
American, they are Asian. We are talking about going into the census 
tracts that are documented as impoverished. We want to get those people 
who want to work, who can work.
  If we lift their boat, if we provide them with the opportunity for 
income, they are renting, they are buying, they are circulating the 
dollar inside our community. If we give small businesses the 
opportunity, they are growing, they are multiplying, and they are 
placed inside those communities. And if we give the summer youth job 
program the boost that it needs to have, what an amazing opportunity to 
get young people not only to be committed to work and understand what 
work is, but to be able to invest in the community, to be able to buy 
school supplies, school uniforms, and also to be able to help their 
family.
  I think that this effort is long overdue. I look forward to working 
with President Obama and the Congressional Black Caucus. I want to 
thank the chairwoman, Barbara Lee. I want to thank Congresswoman Fudge 
and the economic task force, which I am proud to be working with.
  And, finally, what I would say is I am going to speak about them 
later on this week, but Jack Yates won the State championship for 
basketball, and they are rated as the number one high school basketball 
team in the Nation.

                              {time}  2210

  I only cite them to say that our young people are not our yesterdays. 
They are not our todays. Excuse me, they are not our future. They are 
our todays. And as they play sports and they are academically geared as 
we want them to do, let's give them an opportunity to work and to 
invest in themselves and to help them go forward in their college 
education.
  I'm excited about what we are doing. It is something that cannot be 
left along the wayside. We cannot forget those who have been forgotten 
for too long. I believe that our theme should be the chronically 
unemployed not yesterday, and not even in the future, but today. We 
must answer the question to provide opportunities for them.
  Ms. FUDGE. I thank you so much again for joining me. It is always a 
pleasure to have your insight. You are just so very good at making the 
American people understand what the situation is and how we might 
correct it. And I thank you, as always, for helping me to formulate 
some of the ideas that I have as well.
  And I do want to reinforce something, Mr. Speaker, that my colleague 
said, and that is, we have to really pay some particular interest and 
concern to ex-felons and unskilled workers, because they are the ones 
who are, right now, at the bottom of the barrel. And we have to find a 
way, indeed, to get them gainful employment and to just make them feel 
useful to society again as well as to provide for their families. I 
think it's so important. I thank you for raising that.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. I want to quickly make two points. The 
community college system we have heard now is expanding because 
everyone wants an opportunity to be there and be trained. I hope that 
we will be able to have, in our package, the unemployed who are getting 
unemployment, keeping their unemployment but getting a scholarship to 
be trained which helps their income and, therefore, does not deprive of 
them that unemployment while they are getting a stipend to go to 
school. And I also hope that in the Houston community--I'm sorry. Let 
me cite the Houston community college system that I have on my mind. 
They do a great job, but that in our community college system, that 
those ex-felons that we have just spoken about can also be trained and 
be given opportunities. Let's not close any door to the chronically 
unemployed.
  Ms. FUDGE. And it is one of the things we discussed with the 
President, how do we make sure that ex-felons in particular are 
included in programs that we are funding throughout our States. So I 
think it is very, very important that we bring that to the attention of 
the American people.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank you for, again, allowing me to anchor 
this hour. It has, as always, been an interesting discussion amongst my 
colleagues about how we do the work we do, how we continue to be the 
conscience of the Congresses. I thank you so much.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, there are at least 
13 private companies in the $1 billion revenue bracket and 19 companies 
listed in Fortune 500 in North Texas. Dallas is also known as the 
Silicon Prairie of the United States and is proud to house the largest 
hi-tech employment centers in the nation.
  The 30th Congressional District in Texas, where I represent, 
concentrates on electronics, hi-tech industries, manufacturing, and has 
a very large concentration of global headquarters.

[[Page 3423]]

  However, current global economic trends force large high tech 
companies to lay off their workforce and it is apparent the industry 
has no immediate plans to rehire.
  I do believe job creation will occur through small businesses. Small 
businesses, infrastructure, and clean energy are areas in which we can 
put Americans to work while putting our nation on a sturdier economic 
footing. The foundation for sustained economic growth must be our 
continuing focus and our ultimate goal which includes capitol lines of 
credit for small businesses. It continues to concern me that banks are 
currently not lending.
  (a) Establish public interest free loans for small IT companies to 
get new products on the market. Loan time should be in the range of 7 
to 10 years;
  (b) Encourage banks to be more generous reworking home loans to 
prevent more foreclosures;
  (c) Because our economic future depends on a financial system that 
encourages sound investments, honest dealings, and long-term growth, I 
believe jobs can be available if small businesses can get help. Small 
IT companies can be leaders in achieving electronic medical records;
  (d) And because our economic future depends on our leadership in 
small business we can help them create jobs and employ more people 
through enhancing their abilities to lead in the installation of energy 
saving windows, weatherization, water-saving plumbing, etc. I am 
encouraged that the current administration's policies will help 
investing in basic and applied research, as well as to create the 
incentives to build a new clean energy economy.
  As one of the Senior Members in the U.S. Congress, I will work with 
the administration and my colleagues in the House to make sure that the 
reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) occurs in this 
Congress. The Workforce Investment Act addresses retraining and 
training issues. I believe in work force training through local 
government or community colleges so opportunities can be fairly 
practiced.
  Ms. FUDGE. I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________