Congressional Black Caucus Hour

Floor Speech

Ms. CLARKE of New York. Mr. Speaker, the American people made it abundantly clear what they expected from the 112th Congress. They expect us to stop fighting each other and to do the right thing for the country.

However, instead of doing that, the Republican majority has done the exact opposite by engaging in partisan political games that cost the U.S. our triple-A credit rating, resulted in several near government shutdowns and nearly led to the first national default in our history.

These actions don't reflect the American people's will, but rather the priorities of the Republican leadership of the House. The American people have done everything they can to make it clear, but Mr. Speaker, allow me to repeat their refrain: Jobs!

Last month, President Obama unveiled his vision for job creation in the United States. While I would like to see a bit more with regards to direct job creation, it is a good start to addressing our nation's high unemployment, a rate that hovers around 16 percent for African American communities.

Mr. Speaker, the Congressional Black Caucus has been at the forefront of the call for jobs legislation in the 112th Congress. The CBC put together a nationwide jobs fair to not only bring attention to the appalling unemployment numbers in the black community and help bring those seeking jobs together with employers, but to turn up the volume on a national crisis that has taken a back seat to the majority's favored approach of simply cutting our way to prosperity.

Would you believe Mr. Speaker, that just today, the Majority Leader said that the House would not be holding a vote on the American Jobs Act; saying that voting on the complete package was ``unreasonable''.

Mr. Speaker, what Americans find ``unreasonable'' is that the Republican majority is, once again, going to allow the American people to continue to suffer through our national jobs nightmare and continue in their insistence to not bring a single jobs bill to the floor.

What, Mr. Speaker, is the majority afraid of? Are they afraid that the American people, recognizing that this could be the start toward resolving our national unemployment tragedy? Is the Republican leadership so afraid of the tea party that they are willing to allow continued national misery to satisfy a minority of their caucus?

Regardless, as Members of Congress we represent the concerns of our constituents and I know what my constituents are telling me. They are telling me that Congress needs to get its act together and start focusing on the priorities of the American people and not those of a tiny, radical fringe of the majority.

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