Hearing of Indian Affairs Committee - Unemployment on Indian Reservations at 50%: The Urgent Need to Create Jobs in Indian Country

Hearing of Indian Affairs Committee - "Unemployment on Indian Reservations at 50%: The Urgent Need to Create Jobs in Indian Country"

Franken's "Cash For Jobs' Plan Would Benefit Minnesota's Indian Reservations

Franken Discusses Job Creation For American Indians

Today, U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) participated in an Indian Affairs Committee hearing, titled "Unemployment on Indian Reservations at 50%: The Urgent Need to Create Jobs in Indian Country," where he discussed the benefits of his job creation proposal for Minnesota's Indian Reservations.

The text of Sen. Franken's statement is below.

STATEMENT ON UNEMPLOYMENT AND JOB CREATION ON INDIAN RESERVATIONS

Senator Al Franken

I'd like to thank the chairman for holding this hearing. Unemployment is the most urgent challenge we face as a country. In every state, in all sectors, and in all populations, job creation needs to be our number one priority.

The importance of job creation is only heightened in Indian country, where we see the highest unemployment rates of any population in the United States. This is a matter of justice. Our country's double-digit unemployment is extremely disconcerting. So I don't even have words to describe the numbers we're seeing in Indian country -- unemployment rates in the 40s, 50s, and upwards. It's simply wrong.

Job creation in Indian country is a top priority for this Committee. This week I introduced a jobs bill that would allocate $5 billion in TARP funds to create jobs to retrofit hundreds of public buildings. One percent of the total funds would be reserved for tribes.

The bill, which I call "Cash for Jobs,' creates an energy efficiency promotion fund, which would make grants available to states, localities, and tribes to hire workers to retrofit public housing, public buildings, schools, and libraries to increase energy efficiency. Any workers hired under the SEED Act would be paid prevailing wages. I believe this bill has the potential to create thousands of jobs in Indian country.

Buildings present a major job creation opportunity in Indian country. Specifically, as all of you know, there is a dire need for school construction and repair for BIA schools. The need for school construction and repair and the need for jobs on Indian reservations seems to me to be a win-win-win.

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