Bridgette Outten

May 07, 2010 | District

CBC: $1.5B Jobs Bill Will Stem Summer Youth Violence

Congressional Black Caucus members are pushing a $1.5 billion bill that will create jobs for inner-city youth this summer, insisting that the measure will curb the violence that typically rises during summer months.

Time is running out for the lawmakers as youngsters will soon be out of school. A March jobs report noted that younger black workers face “particularly high rates of unemployment,” with more than two out of five young African-American teenagers unemployed the month before.

According to the Washington Post, a CBC-backed bill to create a year-round summer program for youth was rejected by politicians from both sides of the aisle who want to decrease spending. Most recently, congressional Republicans balked at the idea of a summer program, saying that the temporary positions wouldn’t actually help the economy.

At a press conference Thursday, CBC officials were urging the passage of the bill, which has been approved in the House, even if it adds to the federal deficit, The Hill.com reported.

CBC leaders believe the issue should be classified as “emergency” legislation — which would exempt it from regular “pay-go” procedure where bills must be paid for with increased revenues or spending cuts in other areas.

Reportedly, $900 million of the $1.5 billion cost of the bill is not offset.

“We all want to reduce the deficit — we understand that and we get that,” CBC Chairwoman Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said. “Many of us supported pay-go, but we also supported it understanding that the provisions for emergency spending were there if such a designation were made. And this is an emergency.”

Lee and other CBS members worry about increased crime if teenagers have nothing else to do.

“If you live in the urban core and you have a great deal of idleness, you are going to have a great deal of social problems,” Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), vice chairman of the CBC, posted on his Facebook page. “We’ve seen this play out many times over the years.”

A Chicago native, Bridgette has been a journalist since she first wrote for her seventh grade newsletter. Today, that passion is just as strong. She has written for several newspapers, including the Houston Chronicle, the Houston Defender, the Marshall News-Messenger (Texas) and the Springfield News-Sun (Ohio).

5 Responses to CBC: $1.5B Jobs Bill Will Stem Summer Youth Violence

Lewis says:

9:22pm May 8, 2010 at 9:22 pm

What the heck? Why is this an emergency? There are tons of things our kids can do – the YMCA, doing charity work, spending time with family, visiting museums, building a fort together, reading assignments at the library, playing sports together, etc. etc. etc. Where are the parents?

Reply
- Bridgette Outten says:
  
  8:36pm May 9, 2010 at 8:36 pm
  
  Thanks for reading and for commenting. You bring up some great points…we’ll just have to see what happens with the bill.
  
  Reply
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