JOBS

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Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss Democratic initiatives for creating jobs and rebuilding the economy.

While Republicans were busy voting to end Medicare in order to give more tax breaks to big oil, they forgot one important task--job creation.

With the fragile economy just beginning to recover, Americans cannot afford the Republicans' reckless ``So Be It'' attitude toward job creation.

Their failure to propose a single jobs bill after more than four months in the majority is alarming and is indicative of a general lack of concern for the needs of our constituents.

Under the Obama administration, almost 2 million jobs have been created over the last 15 months.

The 244,000 total jobs added last month is the largest in nearly a year, with broad-based gains in retail trade, manufacturing, health care, leisure and hospitality, and professional and business services.

While this is an impressive feat, we need to dig deeper in order to replace the 8 million jobs that we lost during the Bush Administration.

The African American community continues to bear the brunt of the unemployment crisis; close to 16 percent of African Americans are out of work and still looking for jobs.

In some cities, African American unemployment rates have hit Depression levels. This is unacceptable.

The American people have spoken and Democrats are listening; job creation is the key to economic recovery and growth.

Democrats' ``Make It in America'' agenda is a powerful initiative based on the conviction that when more products are made in America, more families will be able to make it in America.

This comprehensive domestic manufacturing strategy is about investing in innovation and clean energy, helping our small businesses and workers compete, rebuilding America, and keeping jobs here at home.

For example, the Make It in America Block Grant Act establishes a grant program at the Commerce Department to provide small to medium-sized businesses, in communities hardest hit by unemployment, with the resources and strategies they need to transition to the manufacturing of clean energy, high technology, and advanced products.

Equally promising is the Job Opportunities Between Our Shores Act, which establishes a Workforce Investment Act pilot program to provide education and training programs in advanced manufacturing.

These bills, along with other Democratic initiatives, prove that Democrats are listening to the American people as they continue to ask, ``Where are the jobs?''

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