Support S. 1769, the “Rebuild America Jobs Act”

Recipient: U.S. Senate

Dear Senator:

On behalf of The Leadership
Conference on Civil and Human Rights, we write to express our support for S. 1769,
the Rebuild America Jobs Act.  S. 1769 will
create or save hundreds of thousands of jobs. We urge you to support cloture on
S. 1769 and to promptly move forward with its consideration and passage.

The Rebuild America Jobs Act would
provide $50 billion of immediate investments in transportation infrastructure
and $10 billion for a national infrastructure bank, an independent institution
that provides credit support to qualified infrastructure projects of regional
and national significance. The infrastructure investments will benefit
localities throughout the country; a significant percentage of highway funds
will be programmed directly at the local level and most transit funds will be
allocated to local-level transit authorities. The Act will ensure that transportation investments allow for the
hiring of local workers, to maximize economic benefits for communities where
projects are located and provide training investments for training,
apprenticeship, and skill development programs. These provisions would be paid
for by a surtax of 0.7% on income above $1 million.

The provisions in S. 1769 are
beneficial to our communities, will help boost our national economic recovery,
are fiscally responsible, and have a history of bipartisan support. Every
$1 billion invested in public transportation capital and operations creates or
supports: 36,000 jobs, $3.6 billion in business sales, and nearly $500 million
in federal, state, and local tax revenues.

While we wait for
long-term reauthorization of the transportation bill, Americans cannot wait for
jobs. They are particularly
important for African-American and Latino communities that are currently facing
unemployment rates of 16 percent and 11.3 percent, respectively, well above the
national average. The targeted investments in the Rebuild America Jobs Act are a
necessary and fiscally responsible component of ensuring our long-term economic
health and prosperity.

For these reasons, we urge
you to support S. 1769 and to work towards its enactment. If you have any
questions, feel free to contact Nancy Zirkin at (202) 466-3311 or Lexer Quamie,
Counsel, at (202) 466-3648. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Wade Henderson
President & CEO

Nancy Zirkin
Executive Vice President