The Urgency of Now: Addressing Reform, Accountability, Equality, and Diversity

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TEXT

Ms. KELLY of Illinois. I thank my friend from New Jersey for leading tonight's Special Order hour.

Madam Speaker, once again, the Congressional Black Caucus has the opportunity to discuss some of the many important issues and challenges facing our Nation right now. I strongly believe that our conversation here tonight is a critical discussion for the record as we continue the work of making our communities and country better. The urgency of now, addressing reform, accountability, equality, and diversity, that is quite a title, but what does it all mean in the context of our full discussion?

America is celebrated for being a melting pot, but I like to say a tossed salad or a stew, because in a stew or salad you don't lose your identity, but you learn to live together in the same gravy or the same salad dressing. This Congress is, without a doubt, a true testament to the diverse people, personalities, and communities that make this great Nation so great.

But in these dynamic times, how can we ensure that our laws and policies are fully embracing our melting pot or our stew of a nation? How can we ensure that we make this great Union even more perfect? It starts with holding ourselves accountable in just a myriad of respects on the economic front, with respect to our justice system, in appreciating our diversity and inclusion for all Americans. I look forward to a fruitful conversation on this and thank my coanchor, Representative Payne.

I did want to acknowledge the Diversity Dinner that we had last week. These days we hear so much about the toxic partisan atmosphere in Congress, titles like ``How Congress Became So Partisan'' in The Washington Post to Nick Gass at Politico's piece, ``This Graphic Shows How America's Partisan Divide Grew.'' The reports of Congress' hyperpartisanship are abundant. The reports point to the loss of camaraderie and friendship amongst colleagues across the aisle. This perception undoubtedly contributes to our dismal 15 percent approval rating.

Since my time as a State legislator in the Illinois statehouse, I have been hosting Diversity Dinners to grow friendships and nurture collegial working relations among legislators who may not otherwise interact. Tonight as we discuss equality and diversity, I want to reflect on what I see as encouraging in bridging differences and understanding in different communities.

Last week I hosted, along with other Members, my second annual congressional Diversity Dinner. Forty Members of Congress from both parties, including Members from both Republican and Democratic leadership, showed up and enjoyed a meal with their colleagues. During the dinner, we weren't Democrats or Republicans; we were colleagues with some great stories to share. At this year's dinner, I saw a microcosm of our Nation, a crowd made up of Members from coast to coast with truly diverse backgrounds coming together to enjoy each other's company.

If we can put aside our partisan blinders to break bread together, I am confident we can find ways to work together. That is what America wants and needs, and that type of leadership is the kind of leadership we deserve.

Today we have an opportunity to celebrate diversity and show that bipartisanship can thrive in Congress. In recent months we have seen the trust between political parties, law enforcement, and communities across the Nation spike. Now is the time for us to come together to address the reforms needed to rebuild this trust. Let's show the American people that we are a diverse body that won't let party lines divide us or define us.

BREAK IN TEXT

Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Thank you, Congressman Payne. I did want to say to Madam Speaker, I appreciate you participating in the Diversity Dinners last week. I can't have Congressman Payne have a one-up on me, so thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

As we continue our conversation on accountability, equality, and diversity, I would like to offer some statistics on our economy 50 years ago and today with respect to the African American community and women.

In 1965, African American jobseekers could be denied employment based on the color of their skin; and, when they could find jobs, they were disproportionately paid less than White males in the same position. In fact, in 1965, the Black unemployment rate was 8.1 percent, almost twice the national unemployment rate which stood at 4.5 percent.

Fifty years later, we have made great strides, and our Nation's workforce is more diverse than ever, but we have much more work to do. Today, at 10.4 percent, the

Black unemployment rate is still almost double the national unemployment rate of 5.6 percent. While it is significantly smaller, there is still a racial wage gap.

The median African American household has less than two-thirds the income of the average White median household. In the past year, we have seen the greatest economic growth in decades. More and more women have been able to enter the workforce, reducing the employment rate among women to a 6-year low.

Unfortunately, Black women have yet to reap the benefits of the economic rebound. In fact, while the overall unemployment rate for women declined, the Black female unemployment rate has increased over the past 2 months. According to a recent analysis by the National Women's Law Center, the Black women's unemployment rate is more than twice the unemployment rate of White women.

Despite having comparable levels of education, Black women have had the highest unemployment rate of any other group. A possible factor in the stubborn unemployment rate for Black women is that we are disproportionately employed in the public sector, which is experiencing a much slower recovery than the private sector.

NWLC said the stagnant job situation for Black women is a ``red flag'' in the employment landscape and urged lawmakers to act to promote a stronger, more widely shared recovery. I couldn't agree more.

We need to invest more in job training and retraining programs that help Black women adapt to the changing workforce and prepare for the careers of tomorrow. We must work to promote diversity in hiring and encourage employers to model their workforces on the communities in which they operate.

As we look for ways to help increase diversity in the workplace and help women succeed, we must be mindful of the unique challenges Black women face and develop targeted policies that help level the playing field for all women.

These facts I have just covered point to the systemic problems. We need to address them today. It should be our mission today to see to it that in 50 years, when lawmakers stand here, they will proudly be touting the progress our Nation has made because all Americans are paid equally and no is discriminated against in the workplace.

As chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust, I am working to address our Nation's health equity gap by exploring legislative and policy initiatives to reduce minority health disparities and promote better health outcomes for all Americans.

With respect to the African American community, the health disparity gap is particularly wide as Blacks have high rates of many adverse health conditions. Across the medical spectrum--from cancer to diabetes, from hypertension to stroke--Blacks are overrepresented and often undertreated.

A major barrier to African Americans getting the medical care they need is the lack of African American doctors in their communities. Studies show that African Americans are more comfortable seeking treatment from doctors who look like them and are much more likely to adhere to courses of treatment prescribed by Black doctors; yet, while African Americans comprise 13 percent of the U.S. population, we represent only 4 percent of the physician workforce, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges' 2014 diversity in the physician workforce report.

The infamous Tuskegee study fostered an enduring legacy of mistrust of the medical establishment in the African American community that makes diversity in medicine vital to closing the health disparities gap.

In order to achieve health equity, we must work to create a physician workforce that reflects our Nation. One key way to do that is to encourage more African Americans to pursue education and training in science, technology, engineering, and math. Congress must do more to support investments in STEM education and to create avenues of access for African American students to enter the STEM fields.

In my district, I launched the Second Congressional District STEM Academy to expose students to STEM fields in hopes of encouraging them to pursue STEM-related careers.

Also, a STEM workforce made up of diverse ranks is crucial to future innovation. To help in that mission, folks across the country and in Silicon Valley have taken note. I know Facebook has sought to change the face of innovation through efforts like their Facebook Academy and Facebook University, which target high school and college students from underrepresented groups.

Similar to my STEM Academy, it is good to see them making an effort to build a pipeline and introduce women and people of color to jobs in STEM--which, of course, could be IT, engineering--and hopefully, more young people decide to become doctors, and they can work in African American communities or underserved communities.

A medical student population that reflects our country's population will create a pipeline of diverse doctors to our communities which will, in turn, put all Americans on track to live a healthier life.

BREAK IN TEXT

Source