Today, Rep. Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement following the passage of H.R. 2847, the HIRE Act:

I joined Rep. Barbara Lee, Chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) in voting against the HIRE Act. While this bill provides tax incentives to businesses, it does not go far enough to create the jobs that Americans so desperately need,” stated Rep. Yvette D. Clarke. “New York City’s January 2010 unemployment rate was 10.4%. Tax incentives are not enough to get New Yorkers back to work. That is why I joined some Members of CBC, and the co chairs of the Jobs NOW Caucus to push for legislation that would directly create jobs. Unfortunately, the HIRE Act focuses more on tax cuts for businesses and not on the Americans who are struggling to find work. The bill also cut the amount of funds that would have gone to highway projects in New York State by 16 million dollars.”

“New Yorkers deserves better,” added Rep. Clarke. “As a Representative of one of the most diverse districts in the nation, I have to think about my constituents who are directly impacted by this economic downturn, many of whom come from low income communities and are ‘chronically unemployed’.”

As Whip of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Clarke is working with the caucus to promote a comprehensive jobs agenda, would help the chronically unemployed by:

• Creating public jobs initiatives, involving the Department of Labor Employment & Training Administration and the Corporation for National and Community Service, to maximize direct training and hiring;

• Creating youth jobs by unvesting in locally-directed funding for Summer Youth Employment; collegiate -level internships and/or fellowships; and apprentice programs;

• Enforcing the minority contracting requirements under the Department of Transportation; promoting equal access to funding for projects of the National Significant and National Corridor grants in the extension of SAFETEA-LU; and strengthening apprentice and training programs;

• Expanding unemployment insurance and COBRA benefits; and

• Providing access to capital and technical assistance to small business from SBA and MBDA.

“Every week I look into the faces of hard working Americans who have been devastated by this economic downturn. I have constituents who are literally one step away from homelessness. I refuse to vote for legislation that does not directly help them. My constituents deserve better. I look forward to pushing a comprehensive jobs bill that makes a direct impact on my community and creates tangible jobs,” concluded Congresswoman Clarke.

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