Civil Rights and Progressive Organizations Call for Comprehensive Jobs Bill

A broad cross-section of the civil rights and progressive community, including The Leadership Conference, is calling on Congress to enact a jobs bill that will rescue millions of struggling Americans from job loss and foreclosure.

A letter to Congress signed by 25 organizations states that if Congress doesn’t address the jobs crisis and put people back to work, all other legislative priorities – including health care and immigration reform – will be in jeopardy.

The letter states: “A recovery plan is needed that rescues Americans from job loss and foreclosure, and that lays the foundation for a more prosperous future for all.  The lack of decent jobs, the fear of losing the family home to foreclosure, and the impact of both of these problems on minority, tribal, and poor neighborhoods are pushing people to the breaking point.”

The groups lay out a blueprint for legislation that includes:

• Extending unemployment insurance and COBRA through the end of the year;
  
• Providing state and local fiscal relief to preserve essential services and the jobs of tens of thousands of workers around the country;
  
• Funding public job creation in communities with large numbers of unemployed and underemployed residents;
  
• Investing in infrastructure of schools and public transportation; and
  
• Preventing further foreclosures, by passing legislation that will give bankruptcy judges the ability to rework defaulted mortgages on primary residences.