MINORITY REPS. HAMMER GOP

WASHINGTON - The Congressional Tri-Caucus—comprised of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus— are decrying the Republican Spending Bill as a reckless plan that will disproportionately harm minorities and threaten America’s growth and economy.

“Not only have Republicans failed to introduce any job creating legislation since Speaker Boehner has had the Speaker’s gavel, but the Continuing Resolution they are pushing this week, makes their real priorities absolutely clear,” said Representative Charles A. Gonzalez, Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. “They are voting to kick 218,000 kids out of Head Start, to fire 55,000 Head Start teachers and 7,000 Special Education teachers. They are voting to cut job training to more than 200,000 unemployed workers and to close 3,000 One Stop centers and the Green Jobs Program. And they are voting to take $61 million dollars in prenatal care from mothers and children and to take $1.3 billion from Community Health Centers. During times of economic hardship, not only do Latinos rely on these programs to ensure their future success, but all Americans do. Fiscal responsibility is every American’s duty, but it must be shared fairly among us, not placed on the backs of seniors, children and the impoverished. We also cannot afford to stop investing in training and educating our youth; we must make sure they can compete in the global economy. I only wish that Republicans showed as much commitment to helping the average American family, as they did to the top 2% of taxpayers when they fought to extend their tax cuts.”

“Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, like many Americans, will be hard hit by cuts to programs that are critical to our community and fundamentally detrimental to our nation’s economy,” said Representative Judy Chu, Chairwoman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. “This bill shows that Republicans don’t understand that the only way to turn this economy around is to serve the millions of Americans who have different backgrounds, linguistic and cultural needs. The nation’s housing market cannot afford to lose housing counselors that a homeowner can trust and who can speak their language. Our nation’s workforce cannot afford to lose another generation of bright, hard working young people, who depend on Pell Grants to go to college. Our nation’s business community cannot afford to go without programs that help the newest entrepreneurs learn how to navigate federal resources to grow their businesses. These cuts fail our communities and fail our nation.”

“As we leave behind the worst recession in generations, we remain committed to working with President Barack Obama to rebuild our economy and win the future for generations to come. The Congressional Black Caucus is also committed to responsibly reducing the deficit by working to eliminate waste, while ensuring that we continue to invest in our children’s future, American innovation, and rebuilding this great nation,” said Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II, Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. “The majority is proposing a reckless and irresponsible spending bill that threatens the job and economic growth of our country, moreover the economic growth of the African American community – one of the communities hardest hit by the recession. They continue to play Russian roulette with our economy while disregarding the well being and protection of our nation’s most vulnerable communities. These cuts are indiscriminate and target hard working American families during a time when they need the help the most. Their reckless spending bill is a road map to rebuild our economy on the backs of those most vulnerable, severely crippling the future of communities of color. The spending bill the Republicans have proposed will deny our children critical education opportunities, eliminate necessary job training programs, and threaten the livelihood of local community organizations across the country that provides assistance to those in our community. We agree that we need to cut spending, but we have to invest in the future and this is not the way. Our success as a nation is interwoven in the success of every community. Until we grasp that concept, as a nation, we will never see the full potential of this country.”