CBC Releases List of Job Creation Priorities–Is that enough?
The Congressional Black Caucus shared with reporters on Friday a letter to President Barack Obama identifying several proposals they believe should be included in a jobs package currently being drafted in the House.
The list included a broad range of issues from direct job creation and training to small business assistance. The one recurring theme was that of the amounts allocated to a particular project or program, at least 10% of that assistance should be targeted to qualified areas of economic hardship. According to the CBC, that means “any census tract or block numbering area where 20% or more of the population is at or below the federal poverty line as defined by the Office of Management and Budget.â€
The CBC feels an enhanced sense of urgency about the nation’s high unemployment rates that they and the entire Democratic Caucus fear the White House and the Senate may not share. The House is hoping to get a robust and targeted jobs package passed before year’s end.
CBC Chair Barbara Lee of California and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri, chair of the CBC jobs taskforce said they will work closely with Democratic leadership, particularly House Whip James Clyburn, who is black, to ensure their priorities are included in a final bill.
But is that enough?
The CBC’s problem, lamented one Democratic source who asked to not be named, is an ongoing struggle to find more specific ways to influence and shape legislation. The scaled down public option the Blue Dogs fought for and the Stupek amendment pro-lifers successfully inserted in the House healthcare bill are recent examples. Next week the Congressional Hispanic Caucus plans to launch an immigration bill that provides a specific approach to dealing with undocumented immigrants.
“What the CBC has not found a way to do is to promote a tangible legislative proposal as opposed to a laundry list. You have to do that with a very specific policy idea that says take this out and put this in,†the source said. “Until the CBC can do that, it’s going to have limited ability to shape or drive the legislative process.â€
Steele on Healthcare Reform: Stall, Delay, or Just Say No
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is encouraging GOP lawmakers to do whatever they can to delay or stop healthcare reform.
“I urge everyone to spend every bit of capital and energy you have to stop this health care reform,†Steele wrote in a memo issued Thursday. “The Democrats have accused us of trying to delay, stall, slow down, and stop this bill. They are right. We do want to delay, stall, slow down, and ultimately stop them from experimenting on our nation’s healthcare. And guess what, so do a majority of Americans.â€
Steele pointed to a recent Rasmussen poll in which 51% said they’re opposed to the “Obama-Pelosi-Reid†healthcare bill; 57% believe costs will go up; and 54% believe the quality of their healthcare will worsen. He also said that 68% of Americans want President Obama and Congress to focus on the economy before tackling healthcare.
“Looking at the mood of the American electorate, the strategy in the healthcare debate is clear,†Steele wrote. “All we need to do is add our voice and amplify the chorus of Americans urging President Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats to slow down their healthcare experiment and focus on jobs and growing the economy.â€
A CBS/New York Times Poll released on Dec. 9, however, found that 42% of respondents believe that proposed reforms would have no effect on them, while 34% said they would be harmed.
In a statement, Democratic National Committee Press Secretary Hari Sevugan said, “With this memo and Senator Judd Gregg’s obstruction manual, Republicans have laid their cards on the table and made explicit that their intention, their singular goal, is obstructing the president’s agenda for the sake of politics no matter how high the price for the American people. … Republicans are obstructing progress for the benefit of themselves and their special interest allies. If they think that’s a winning proposition, they are in for a world of hurt.”
CBC Plays Political Hardball and Scores
The 10 Congressional Black Caucus members who sit on the House Financial Services Committee made headlines last week when they boycotted two important votes. To their dismay, several stories darkly hinted of a brewing feud between the CBC and President Barack Obama. But it’s not personal, they say, just politics.
It paid off, too. Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank of Massachusetts agreed to include two amendments proposed by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-California) to the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that would commit $3 billion from the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) to assist unemployed homeowners so they can stay in their homes. An additional $1 billion would fund grants to city and county governments for neighborhood revitalization projects.
The committee also has adopted an amendment that would establish an Office of Minority and Women Inclusion at each of the seven financial regulatory agencies. Another Waters amendment calls for five additional board members to serve on the Consumer Financial Protection Oversight Board with the seven regulatory agency heads. It’s worded, she says, to ensure that they would be picked from organizations that represent the voices of minority consumers.
“We got a lot in this bill,†said a beaming Waters. “We demonstrated 10 votes on the committee is an extremely powerful bloc and some of this may carry over to the floor where we might organize all 42 [CBC members] on some issues.â€
Waters has said more than once that the CBC has taken too long to begin flexing its muscle. “Now that we have this power, I don’t think leadership will negotiate only with Blue Dogs; they’ll have to negotiate with us, too.â€Cummings Seeks Bonding Assistance for Minority Entrepreneurs
It takes money to make money, so the saying goes, and that’s especially true for federal contracting opportunities that require bonding.
“One of the major problems that minority contractors experiences is putting up a bond. In many instances they don’t have enough equity in their companies or may not have a past history to [satisfy] bonding companies,†said Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland) Thursday. He also believes sometimes discrimination is also a factor. “Without bonding, you can’t do the contract.â€
Cummings, a member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, is seeking support for the Department of Transportation Bonding Assistance Authority Act, a bill he’s introduced to expand DOT’s authority to guarantee bonds issued to disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs). The measure would designate up to $50 million per year to fund the program, which Cummings says will significantly increase the amount of bonding aid available to DBEs. In addition, it would modernize the authorizing statute for DOT’s Minority Resource Center “to ensure that it serves as a clearinghouse providing information to DBEs on business opportunities related to all modes of transportation.â€
Although Cummings has just 10 of the 30 co-sponsors he’s seeking, he is confident that the measure will pass on its own or as part of a six-year transportation bill.
RELATED READING