National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2016--Continued

Floor Speech

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Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, it sometimes happens that issues of enormous consequence seem to be ignored and do not get anywhere near the discussion it requires. One such issue which needs to be put on the table that needs to be dealt with and needs to be resolved is the crisis of youth unemployment in America, in general, and specifically among Black and Hispanic youth.

Let me provide you with some new information that I recently received from the Economic Policy Institute, one of the important nonpartisan economic think tanks in our country. What this information tells us is that the level of youth unemployment in this country has reached tragic dimensions, and it is especially tragic for the African-American and Hispanic communities.

The Economic Policy Institute recently analyzed census data on unemployment among young people--those people who are either jobless, those people who have given up looking for work or those people who are working part time when they want to work full time; in other words, what real unemployment is about.

This is what they found. They found that during April of 2014 to March of 2015, the average real unemployment rate for Black high school graduates, ages 17 to 20, was 51.3 percent. Let me repeat. Over the last year, from April 2014 to March of 2015, the average real unemployment rate for Black high school graduates was 51.3 percent. The jobless figure for Hispanics in the same age group was 36.1 percent, and for young White high school graduates the number was 33.8 percent.

This is an issue which cannot be ignored. An entire generation of young people who are trying to get their lives together, trying to earn some money, and trying to become independent are unable to find work. This is an issue which must be dealt with. Even young Americans with a college degree are finding it increasingly difficult to get a job. The real unemployment rate for young Black college graduates between the ages of 21 and 24 was 23 percent, the figure for Hispanics was 22.4 percent, and the figure for Whites was 12.9 percent.

Today in America, over 5 1/2 million young people have either dropped out of high school or have graduated high school and do not have jobs. It is no great secret that without work, without education, and without hope, people get into trouble, and the result is--and this is not unrelated--that tragically in America today we have more people in jail than any other country on Earth, including China, an authoritarian, Communist country with a population four times our size. How does that happen? How is it that this great Nation has more people in jail than any other country and far more than a Communist, authoritarian society in China, a country that is four times our size?

Today, the United States is 5 percent of the world's population; yet, we have 25 percent of the world's prisoners. Incredibly, over 3 percent of our country's population is under some form of correctional control. According to the NAACP, from 1980 to 2008, the number of people incarcerated in America quadrupled from roughly half a million to 2.3 million people. If current trends continue, the estimate is that one in three Black males born today can expect to spend time in prison during his lifetime.

This is an unspeakable tragedy. This is an issue which has to be put on the table and has to be discussed. And this crisis is not just a destruction of human life, it is also a very costly issue to the taxpayers of our country. In America, we now spend nearly $200 billion a year on public safety, including $70 billion on correctional facilities each and every year.

It is beyond comprehension that we as a nation have not focused attention on the fact that millions of our young people are unable to find work or begin their careers in a productive economy. This is an issue which we must deal with--and I know I speak for the Senator from Michigan--and we will make sure this country pays attention to and deals with this issue.

Let me just say that it makes a lot more sense to invest in jobs and education for our young people than to spend incredible amounts of money on jails and incarceration. Let's give these kids a shot at life. Let's give them a chance. Let's not lock them up.

The time is long overdue for us to start investing in our young people, to help them get the jobs they need, the education they need, and the job training they need so they can be part of the American middle class.

The answer to unemployment and poverty is not and cannot be the mass incarceration of young Americans of all races. It is time to bring hope and economic opportunity to communities throughout this country.

Last week, I introduced legislation with Congressman John Conyers and Senator Debbie Stabenow to provide $5 1/2 billion to immediately begin funding States and localities throughout this country to employ 1 million young people between the ages of 16 and 24 and provide job training to hundreds of thousands of young Americans.

Some people may say: Well, this is an expensive proposition.

I guarantee that this investment will save money because it costs a heck of a lot more money to put people in jail than to provide them with jobs and education. We will save lives and create taxpayers and a middle class rather than having more and more people in jail.

I just wanted to mention that this is an issue which has to be discussed. I look forward to working with the cosponsor of this legislation, Senator Stabenow, and we will bring attention to this issue.

I yield the floor.

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