Washington D.C. – The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) will hold a hearing to examine policy solutions that address the needs of the “chronically unemployed” on Wednesday, March 17, 2010 from 9:00-11:00am in room 2237 Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill.

This hearing, “Out of Work but Not Out of Hope: Addressing the Crisis of the Chronically Unemployed” will focus on data that suggest the chronically unemployed include African Americans and other communities of color with unemployment rates significantly higher than the national average; youth and adult workers in need of enhanced education and training; and those who have lost their jobs as a result of the weakened economy and/or have been unemployed for at least six months.

Panels

Witnesses will include economists, policy experts and representatives of affected constituencies. Panels will address the following topics:

9-9:30am        Panel One: Who Are the Chronically Unemployed?

9:30-10am      Panel Two: Direct Public Jobs – The Fastest, Most Direct Route to PuttingAmerica Back to Work

10-10:30am Panel Three: Strengthening the Next Generation of Workers - Youth Summer Jobs, Training and Long Term Employment

10:30-11am      Panel Four: Minority Owned Business Empowerment – A Targeted Approach to Expanding Workforce Opportunities

Call for Testimony

Due to time constraints there will be limited opportunities to provide verbal testimonies. The CBC invites interested parties to submit written testimony for the record. Testimony must be;

∙         Submitted by Monday, March 15th to congressionalblackcaucus@mail.house.gov.

∙         Limited to 2 pages, Times New Roman, 12pt. font.

∙         Address the issues of the chronically unemployed, direct public job and training creation, youth employment and minority owned business.

∙         Include a 100 word bio of the authoring individual or organization and contact information.

About the CBC Jobs Campaign

The CBC believes stable and just employment is a fundamental right for all Americans. In times of economic weakness, it is the role of government to protect and empower our nation’s workforce.

During the month of March 2010 the CBC will engage in a 5 week campaign to seek policy solutions for the “chronically unemployed” - engaging President Obama, leadership and members of Congress, and coalition partners in a strategy to put America back to work.

The CBC will employ tactics that educate Congress and community members on the state of the “chronically unemployed;” work with leadership to shape current legislative vehicles with the capability to create jobs and strengthen the American workforce; and engage local leadership in discussions on long term employment and economic solutions.

For more information, please emailcongressionalblackcaucus@mail.house.gov.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: J. Jioni Palmer - 202-226-9776