EquityBlog

Sustainable Communities needs your help!

This Tuesday, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development will vote on funding for the Sustainable Communities Initiative in the FY 2013 budget. Through this program, investments in affordable housing and good jobs near transit are being planned in 142 cities and regions across the country—with equity advocates planning for their communities’ futures. Maybe you live in one of these places.

However, Congress isn’t so sure that these investments are necessary. Last year, they voted to zero out funding for the Sustainable Communities program in the FY 2012 budget. This year, we have to make sure Congress knows how important these investments are to increasing access to opportunity for communities that have been left behind.

Call, tweet, and write on your Senators’ wall and tell them that every community should be a Sustainable Community.

Tell your Senators to support Sustainable Communities by:

• Fully funding the Sustainable Communities program at $100 million for the FY 2013 budget
• Building healthy communities and strong regions with good jobs, housing, and transportation
• Bringing private, public, and nonprofit sectors together to rebuild our economies

Please call key Senators (in this order) before the looming vote as soon as Tuesday and tell them to fully fund the Sustainable Communities program.

• If your own Senator is on this list, call her or him first.
• Call the Chair, Senator Murray
• Call the Ranking member, Senator Collins
• Post this call to action to Facebook and Twitter so as many constituents as possible are calling their Senators
• Call as many other Senators on the list as possible
• Watch the hearing here, and keep the conversation going online!

Please let us know who you called and how they responded by e-mailing us here!

The following is a statement from PolicyLink Founder and CEO Angela Glover Blackwell on the Senate’s passage of “MAP-21″ transportation bill last week.

 ”The Senate recently passed Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21^st Century (MAP-21) by a vote of 74-22.  This is the first major step toward passing a surface transportation reauthorization.  It is indeed an accomplishment that the Senate Bill was able to garner bipartisan support to release it from the partisan gridlock that so characterizes Congressional debates.

“However, the Senate was given an opportunity to set a new course for transportation investment that could respond to the economic inequality we face today and set forth new innovative policies for tomorrow that would allow all Americans to participate and prosper.  Unfortunately, the Senate did not take full advantage of this great opportunity.

“Overall, MAP-21 is a mixed bag.   It maintains current funding levels, an accomplishment in this tight fiscal environment, and it establishes a few minor reforms in the areas of public transit, bicycling and walking programs, and bus/rail fare increase protections.  However, it does not represent the transformational surface transportation authorization that our nation needs.

“MAP- 21 does not provide disadvantaged workers with critical career pathways into transportation jobs.  It does not go far enough to protect low-income people and communities of color from potential discrimination in transportation plans and projects.  The bill lacks the “teeth” to force state and local decision-makers to choose transportation projects that would bring benefits to distressed communities.

“Congress should aim higher when crafting the final bill to be presented to the President for his signature.  The reauthorization should embrace smart, equitable policy proposals like those that were championed by a host of equity advocates and several Senators.

“Millions of struggling Americans depend upon our transportation system to provide affordable, reliable, and safe options for traveling to work, school, and medical care.  They deserve a transportation bill that connects them to opportunity and meets the needs of those who have been left behind. MAP-21 does not represent the best for our nation today, or for the decades ahead.

“Looking ahead, as Congress works toward finalizing a new authorization, our leaders in Congress and the Administration must understand that there is more work to be done to ensure that the next surface transportation bill is the fair, just, and equitable roadmap to the future that America needs and deserves.”

Yesterday, a proposal was introduced by the House Ways and Means Committee that would strip dedicated federal funding for public transportation.

We have long said that public transit is a 21st-century civil rights issue. Tomorrow, this very issue will be debated in Congress — and their decision will affect millions of Americans who depend on public transportation to get to school, work, and the doctor’s office.

Your voices are essential right now to preserving this essential funding. Please contact your Member of Congress today and ask them to preserve funds for public transportation and reject the House Ways and Means Committee proposal.

You can access contact information for your Member of Congress here.

Onward for equity.

Photo Courtesy of WhiteHouse.gov

The following is a statement by PolicyLink Founder and CEO Angela Glover Blackwell on President Obama’s 2012 State of the Union Address:

“If the playing field is level, I promise you — America will always win.”– President Obama

Last night’s State of the Union address laid out a solid vision for pushing America into a more equitable and inclusive future. With a targeted focus on job creation, infrastructure, workforce training, and fiscal reform, President Obama offered proposals for creating an economic system in which everyone can participate and prosper, including:

• Investing in infrastructure projects that would produce decent-paying jobs
• Funding community college programs to train America’s future skilled workforce
• Ensuring that the rich share the economic burden by paying at least 30 percent in taxes (the “Buffett Rule”)
• Preventing increases in student loan interest rates, and doubling the number of work-study jobs over the next five years
• Creating clean energy jobs programs

These proposals and others outlined in the President’s speech mark important steps toward closing the nation’s widening income divide. But absent a firm commitment from lawmakers to making equity an economic imperative, they will remain only ideas.

In a letter delivered yesterday to the President and members of Congress –- and signed by more than 130 organizations nationwide — PolicyLink presented a number of policy recommendations aimed at expanding opportunity for low-income people and communities of color hit first and worst by the recession and unfair economic practices. We stand with President Obama in pushing for equitable policy solutions that will help close America’s prosperity gap, and urge our legislators on Capitol Hill to do the same. Together, we can re-build an economy that works for all people.

Still buzzing about last night’s speech? Join us below in the comments to continue the conversation, and share your thoughts on President Obama’s vision for America.

Also, we encourage you to respond to local media coverage in your area and vocalize your support of a bold policy agenda for the 99%. 

As we get ready for 2012, and continue our work advancing economic and social equity, we have exciting news from Congress!

• Choice Neighborhoods will receive $120 million to create communities of opportunity with stable affordable housing, up from $100 million last year.
• Healthy Food Financing Initiative will receive $32 million–$22 million through the Department of Treasury, and $10 million through the Department of Health and Human Services–to expand access to healthy food in low-income communities. USDA will be able to use additional resources for related efforts.
• New Starts will receive nearly $2 billion to expand public transportation systems across the country, an increase of over $300 million from last year.
• Prevention and Public Health Fund will receive the full $1 billion authorized through the Affordable Care Act, including $280 million for Community Transformation Grants, which support community-level chronic disease prevention and the promotion of health and wellness. This is a $135 million increase from 2011.
• Promise Neighborhoods will receive $60 million to support communities of opportunity centered around strong schools, based on the principles of the Harlem Children’s Zone. That’s up from $30 million in 2011, and $10 million in 2010.
• The Sustainable Communities Initiative, which helps communities plan for their future economies and implement major infrastructure investments, will receive $2.6 million for operations–but will not receive funding for the grant program.
• The Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) will receive $500 million to create multi-use transportation hubs.

Promise Neighborhoods, the hot new program based in years of experience and successful efforts, is on the chopping block in the FY 2012 budget negotiations.

Inspired by the model of the Harlem Children’s Zone, Promise Neighborhoods wrap children in high-quality, coordinated health, social, community, and educational support from cradle to college to career. This successful program is exactly what we need to break the cycle of generational poverty, but Congress may not agree.

Congress is currently negotiating the FY 2012 budget, and funding for Promise Neighborhoods could be eliminated.

Tell Congress to keep Promise Neighborhoods off the chopping block.

We’ve already begun to see the remarkable strides of communities building Promise Neighborhoods throughout the country. Last year, 21 communities started planning Promise Neighborhoods with grants from the Department of Education, and this year over 200 communities applied for $30 million in grants to plan or implement Promise Neighborhoods.

Send a message to key Senators and members of Congress to make sure Promise Neighborhoods stay funded so children in every community have the opportunity to learn, grow, and succeed.

Bravo, Mr. President. Thank you for setting the record straight on our nation’s economy.

On Tuesday, President Obama made a major speech from Osawatomie, Kansas on what he called the “most defining issue of our time:”  restoring growth and prosperity for all Americans. Taking aim at the alarming growth of income inequality in this country, his speech hit on many themes lifted up in our framing paper, America’s Tomorrow: Equity is the Superior Growth Model. Here are my relections:

• A perfect diagnosis of the problem. Our economic model is broken: the middle class is shrinking and economic opportunity has dimmed. The Occupy movement gave voice and action to our national unease: an economy that benefits the few and exploits the many is unfair and unjust. Inequality is not only a moral issue, but also an economic one. Inequality is not only bad for those at the bottom; it is bad for everyone. The one percent depend on the 99 percent: who else would patronize their stores and buy their services? To put it simply: we all do better when we all do better.

• A fine start on solutions. We must advance policies that foster an economy that works for everyone. This means getting our financial house in order and setting up a tax structure that allows us to make investments in the infrastructure and education we need to secure the nation’s economic future in the global economy.

• Don’t forget America’s Tomorrow. We are quickly becoming a majority people-of-color nation and yet there remain wide disparities. Among children born poor in 1968, 45 percent of white children climbed to the middle class or beyond, but only 26 percent of black children experienced the same upward mobility. A successful economic growth strategy will pay particular to communities of color who’ve never had a fair shot at making it into the middle class and were hit first and worst by foreclosures and the economic crisis. Their future is our future: we must make choices that allow them to reach their economic potential.

We applaud the President for shining a light on these very important issues, and making clear what must be done to secure a bright and equitable future for everyone.

Last week, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works passed the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), a nearly $80 billion bill to reauthorize the programs that build and maintain our nation’s streets, bridges, and sidewalks.  The introduction of this legislation was long-awaited.  The current reauthorization expired in 2009 and our nation’s transportation system has been limping along on extensions ever since.

As part of the debate on the bill, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced an amendment to the bill that would create the first-ever construction careers demonstration program at the U.S. Department of Transportation, a provision that could have a major impact for transportation equity.

Quality jobs in the transportation sector can provide a pathway to the middle class.  The Construction Careers Program would connect Americans who have historically been underrepresented in the transportation construction workforce – low-income communities, women, and people of color — to quality apprenticeship training and job opportunities.

This program has been tested and proven in several cities  including in Los Angeles, New York, St. Louis, and Milwaukee.  Its inclusion in the next surface transportation reauthorization will provide people from communities across the nation who desire to contribute to our nation’s economic success with access to critical entry points into quality jobs in the transportation sector.

When she introduced the amendment, Sen. Gillibrand said of the elements of the construction careers program:

“[T]hese are important provisions that I believe could be a real benefit to the legislation, and hope that as this process moves forward we could work to try and include this program in the legislation.”

We are grateful to Senator Gillibrand for her leadership on this important issue.  With the introduction of this amendment, the construction careers program has reached a significant milestone.  However, we still have some important hurdles to get this proposal into the final surface transportation authorization.  Next, we would like to see this proposal taken up by other Senate Committees, particularly the Senate Banking Committee, which will reauthorize our transit programs, as well as the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

You can join the more than a dozen organizations who are working to make a Construction Careers program at US DOT a reality.  To find out how you can support of this effort, visit our website or please contact, Chris Brown, PolicyLink at cbrown@policylink.org.

Please join Valerie Jarrett and Melody Barnes on a special conference call today as the White House releases a new report on the Administration’s efforts to lift up vulnerable communities.

The new report, Pathways to Opportunity, will show the “critical investments this Administration has made to lift and keep millions of Americans out of poverty, provide critical support to families throughout the economic downturn, and invest in long-term reforms to grow the middle class,” according to the White House invitation.

RSVP here. 

WHAT: White House Conference Call

WHEN: FRIDAY, October 14^th

Start Time 5:45 p.m. Eastern (2:45 p.m. Pacific)

Dial In:  (800) 230-1092

Passcode Title: White House Update Call

WHO: Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President

            Melody Barnes, Director of the Domestic Policy Council

Please note this call is off the record and not for press purposes.

Did you join the call? Tell us what you thought in the comments!

UPDATE: Here’s the link to the report.

And this is from the White House blog post explaining the report:

When considered together, the President’s actions have made a significant impact on low-income communities in five specific areas:

• Rewarding Work.  From putting more money in the pockets of working families to investing in initiatives to help workers remain connected to the workforce and gain new skills, the President has made historic reforms to reward work.  The President secured the Making Work Pay tax credit in 2009 and 2010 and then a payroll tax cut that amounted to a 2 percent raise for working Americans in 2011. In addition, the President secured historic expansions in refundable tax credits for low-income families.  Additionally, through the Recovery Act, over 260,000 adults and youth were placed in subsidized jobs and an additional 367,000 low-income youth received summer employment.
• Reforming America’s Education System. To further empower Americans in their climb out of poverty and into the middle class, the President has made historic investments and reforms in education from cradle to career –  from launching a $500 million fund focused on improving state early learning systems to doubling the funding available for Pell Grants for low-income students.   And as a result of the groundbreaking Race to the Top initiative, more than 40 states have raised standards, improved assessments, and invested in teachers to ensure that all of our children receive a high-quality education.  The Obama Administration has also secured $40 million over the past two years to develop the Promise Neighborhoods initiative – modeled off of the Harlem Children’s Zone – to provide communities with the cradle through college continuum of services.
• Health Security for American Families.  The President has also taken historic steps to ensure greater access to health care for the neediest Americans.  Within a month of taking office, the President signed the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act into law, expanding health coverage to more than 4 million low-income children who would otherwise go uninsured.  And because of the Affordable Care Act, 34 million Americans will become insured by 2021 as a result of provisions expanding Medicaid coverage for adults up to 133 percent of the poverty level.   Indeed, the Affordable Care Act is already working to expand coverage:  nearly one million more young adults have gained access to health insurance because of this critical new law.
• Investment in Small Business and Community Development. The President has also consistently supported investments in small businesses that in turn invest in low-income communities.  Through measures like the Small Business Jobs Act, the President has signed into law 17 small business tax cuts, established new initiatives to expand access to credit, and enhanced SBA lending programs.

 

The President has also provided additional support to Community Development Financial Institutions that lend to small businesses in the hardest-hit rural and urban communities and has also proposed to build on historic investments in the New Markets Tax Credit by expanding it from $3.5 billion to $5 billion in his FY2012 budget proposal.  This will make it easier for community development entities to attract private-sector funds for investment in startups and small businesses operating in lower-income communities.

 

• Mitigating the Impact of the Housing Crisis.  When the President took office in January of 2009, the housing market had seen major losses for 30 straight months, slashing home equity in half which combined with the recession left many communities struggling economically.  To begin rebuilding our housing market and economy, the President jump-started mortgage loan modifications, which help to keep families in their homes.  More than 4 million families have had their mortgages permanently modified since April, 2009 – nearly twice the number of foreclosures which occurred in that time.  And to help over 1 million Americans avoid homelessness, the President provided $1.5 billion through the Recovery Act for the Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program.

 

Most recently, to continue the fight to create opportunity, the President announced the American Jobs Act, which would put Americans back to work and put more money in their pockets.  The American Jobs Act will provide:

 

• A new Pathways Back to Work Fund will provide hundreds of thousands of low-income youth and adults with opportunities to work and to achieve needed training in growth industries.  The Fund will support three things:  i) summer and year-round jobs for youth, building off of successful programs that supported over 367,000 such jobs in 2009 and 2010; ii) subsidized employment opportunities for low-income individuals who are unemployed, building off the successful TANF Emergency Contingency Fund wage subsidy program that supported 260,000 jobs in 2009 and 2010; and iii) promising and innovative local work-based job and training initiatives to place low-income adults and youths in jobs quickly.
• Investments to rebuild and modernize infrastructure, which include a school construction initiative that will modernize 35,000 public schools, with a focus on the school districts with the largest numbers of children in poverty; a new Project Rebuild initiative to rehabilitate and refurbish hundreds of thousands of vacant and foreclosed homes and businesses in communities that have been hardest hit by the housing crisis, building off successful models from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program; and a new training initiative to expand infrastructure employment opportunities for minorities, women, and socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.
• An extension and expansion of the payroll tax cut passed last December, which will boost the incomes of virtually all 160 million American workers, and a tax credit to provide up to $4,000 per worker for businesses who hire individuals who have been looking for a job for 6 months or more.
• An extension of unemployment insurance that will ensure that 6 million Americans will not lose their unemployment insurance benefits, while encouraging reforms that will help get the long-term unemployed back to work, armed with lifelong skills.

 

On Tuesday, a Senate subcommittee will vote to determine the future of the Promise Neighborhoods program.

Today, your voice is more crucial than ever. Sen. Tom Harkin – the chairman of that key subcommittee – and Sen. Richard Shelby – the ranking member – need to hear from you

Call Sen. Harkin at 202-224-3254

Call Sen. Shelby at 202-224-5744

Tell Sen. Harkin and Sen. Shelby:

• Fully Fund the Promise Neighborhoods program at $150 million for FY 2012
• There is strong support for Promise Neighborhoods across America, and in your community.
• All children deserve to live in safe, healthy communities, go to a good school, and graduate from college
• This is a proven, economically pragmatic solution to childhood poverty—we’ve learned from the lessons of the Harlem Children’s Zone

• If we want America to succeed tomorrow, we need to invest in our children today.

Your voices have been loud and strong. With one phone call, you can help ensure millions of children benefit from the Promise Neighborhoods program.