Conyers, Wilson, & Kaptur Host Brain Trust on Long-Term Unemployment As Congress Turns a Blind Eye

(WASHINGTON) – This afternoon, the Congressional Full Employment Caucus held a panel discussion on the ongoing employment crisis in America, entitled “Bipartisan Solutions to Long-Term Unemployment.” The event - moderated by Arthur Delaney with the Huffington Post - featured esteemed panelists including: Betsey Stevenson, a Member of the White House Council of Economic Advisors; Judy Conti, Federal Advocacy Coordinator with the National Employment Law Project; and Heidi Shierholz, an Economist at the Economic Policy Institute. During the course of the discussion, panelists identified proven bipartisan solutions - that Congress can consider and pass immediately - to combat the ongoing employment crisis in the United States and get Americans back to work.

At the conclusion of the panel discussion, Representatives John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), Frederica S. Wilson (D-Fla.), and Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) issued the following statement:

U.S. Representative
John Conyers, Jr.

Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.): “The unemployment rate has declined at an unacceptably slow pace in the half-decade since the financial crisis. More than 3.4 million currently-unemployed people have been out of work for 27 weeks or longer, excluding the untold number of individuals who have become discouraged and dropped out of the workforce. I co-founded the Congressional Full Employment Caucus this year so that Congress focuses on the widespread unemployment crisis. Having a job is not only essential for having a home and having healthcare. It is essential for enjoying a life of basic stability and dignity. The discussion today not only shed light on the plight of the long-term unemployed - and the discrimination that they face - but also on the actions Congress can take right away. The greatest danger is that Congress will forget this human tragedy. Today’s panel is the first of several efforts - spearheaded by the new Full Employment Caucus - to restore the focus on jobs and to identify and advocate for lasting solutions to the unemployment crisis.”

Representative Frederica S. Wilson (D-Fla.): “There’s a simple message I’ve been trying to get across since I arrived in Congress: Unemployment is our true deficit. People are suffering. Five years after the onset of the financial crisis, there are still more than eleven million people actively looking for jobs, more than four million who have been jobless for six months or longer, and seven million who have given up looking for work altogether. Nearly 3 million Americans, including more than 130,000 Floridians, have not received their unemployment insurance benefits since December 2013.  Now more than ever, it is important that we support a movement towards full employment by enacting policy that creates jobs and boost wages. The mantra of this Congress must be: Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!”

Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio): “Putting Americans back to work is priority number one.  Our unemployment crisis not only hurts those who cannot find work today, but future generations.  We must act now.  The solution could not be more clear.  If we want a strong future, we must invest in our crumbling infrastructure—supporting millions of good jobs modernizing our transportation, energy, and water sectors.  We have the tools to do great things for the American people.  We need the will to act.  I am excited to be leading that charge today.”

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Reps. Conyers & Wilson Host "Employment: A Human Right" Forum

(WASHINGTON) – Today, following the establishment of the Congressional Full Employment Caucus last week, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) and Congresswoman Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) hosted a forum entitled, “Employment: A Human Right,” moderated by Christina Bellantoni, Editor-in-Chief of Roll Call. Esteemed panelists for the forum included: Dean Baker the Co-Director and Co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research; John Cavanagh, Director of the Institute for Policy Studies; Phil Harvey, Professor of Law and Economics at Rutgers University; Thea Lee, Deputy Chief of Staff of the AFL-CIO; and Larry Mishel, President of the Economic Policy Institute. Today’s forum was a constructive discussion on policymakers role in addressing the unemployment crisis as well as Congressman Conyers’ legislation, H.R. 1000, the Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment and Training Act and Congresswoman Wilson’s H.R. 2821, the American Jobs Act of 2013. After the forum Rep. Conyers and Rep. Wilson issued the following statement:

Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.): “To me, addressing poverty and inequality is fundamentally about addressing unemployment and underemployment. While President Obama emphasized important initiatives in his State of the Union address last week, we must go further. If we are to be successful in truly reducing inequality, we must set a goal to reach full employment and we must do this by viewing full employment as the top domestic priority. The national conversation must include the belief that government can work to achieve full employment through aggressive policy and move away from the notion that government can only create an economic environment that allows the private sector to possibly obtain full employment. For most, economic survival is critically sustained by employment, and if and when society cannot assure the survival of all citizens through access to employment, government has a obligation to provide these opportunities - employment must be viewed as a human right. It is my hope that today’s conversation and future action of the Congressional Full Employment Caucus will help shift the country’s focus to achieve full employment and allow for economic independency for all Americans.”

Congresswoman Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.): “With nearly 30 million Americans either unemployed or underemployed, we have a moral obligation to solve this crisis.  This is about restoring dignity to tens of millions of Americans.  It’s simple.  Unemployment means anxiety and insecurity that translates into worse mental and physical health. Unemployment means lower lifelong earnings - not only for workers, but also for their children.  Unemployment means a lower tax base and, in turn, higher deficits.  There are bipartisan options to build a Full Employment Society, including proposals to spur public-private investments in infrastructure and close the skills gap. But we must act now.  We founded the Full Employment Caucus to get Congress to act.”

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Conyers & Congressional Advocates Announce Creation of Full Employment Caucus

(WASHINGTON) – Today, in response to the ongoing jobs crisis in America, Representatives John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.), Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), José Serrano (D-N.Y.), and Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) announced the creation of a Congressional Full Employment Caucus. To end the unacceptably high rate of unemployment and underemployment in the United States - and achieve a truly full employment society - more than 24 million jobs need to be created. The Congressional Full Employment Caucus will serve as a platform and working group for Members dedicated to identifying solutions to our current unemployment crisis and advocating for legislative action. Ultimately, the goal of the Caucus is to realize the dream of a society in which every American who wants to work has the right to some form of employment. After the establishment of the Congressional Full Employment Caucus was finalized, the Representatives in attendance issued the following statement:

Congressman John Conyers, Jr. and Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, joined by their colleagues Congressman Charles Rangel and Congresswoman Barbara Lee, announcing the creation of a Congressional Full Employment Caucus.

Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.): “For far too long, the plight of the unemployed and underemployed in the United States has been - at best - ignored by Congress, or encouraged - at worst - by callous austerity-minded policies. When more than 24 million of our family members, friends, and neighbors are out of work, we cannot allow this to continue or become the new normal in America. It is for this reason that I have come together with a coalition of concerned Representatives from all corners of the country to form the Congressional Full Employment Caucus. Together, we will craft legislative responses to address the jobless crisis - like my ‘Humphrey Hawkins Full Employment and Training Act’ - and serve as advocates, working towards a society in which employment is recognized as a fundamental human right. As Congress shifts its attention to legitimate concerns over gaping income inequality in the United States, we must not forget about the millions of Americans who lack an income to begin with through no fault of their own. Our work with the Congressional Full Employment Caucus will ensure that the unemployment crisis never leaves Congress’s radar until millions of hardworking Americans are able to find work once again.”

Congresswoman Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.): “With nearly 30 million Americans unemployed or underemployed, Congress has a moral obligation to make full employment a reality.  We’ve formed this caucus to fight for a 21^st Century New Deal. This means making sure there are no more collapsed bridges, contaminated water, or falling positions in global education rankings.  It also means restoring the dignity of work for millions of people.”

Congressman Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.): "In America, if you work hard and play by the rules, you should have the opportunity to succeed. When thousands of men and women work full time but need food stamps to put food on their tables, when they can't get health benefits, when they can't get paid sick days, then we must do whatever we can to stand up for them. In his State of the Union Address, the President has reminded the country that, with optimism for the future and action on all of our parts, we can expand economic opportunities for everyone in America. I look forward to work with Members of the Full Employment Caucus to advancing the set of concrete, practical proposals he has laid out to help more Americans find work, and more workers find the economic security they deserve."

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.): “As Congressional leaders, we must focus on long-term strategies that put every American back to work. Our country’s economic recovery will not be complete until we eradicate the chronic unemployment that plagues each and every one of our communities. Collectively, this caucus will work hard to ensure that all Americans are fully employed and set on a sustained path to economic prosperity.”

Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Calif.): “The creation of this Caucus provides a crucial platform for our colleagues in Congress and builds on the great efforts of the Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment Act of 1977, that I had the honor of working on as a Congressional staffer decades ago. This Caucus will continue that call to justice by working with advocates and job creators, to take an active role in creating the 24 million new jobs needed to end unemployment and underemployment, to reach full employment, and ultimately to grow an economy that works for all and eliminates poverty in America. We all know that the best way to tackle the deficit is full employment, and the best way to lift folks out of poverty is a good paying job. This Caucus will join with other caucuses in Congress, the Out of Poverty Caucus, the Progressive Caucus, and others, to reignite the American dream.”

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas): “Nearly 1.3 million long-term unemployed workers, including the 64,000 Texas residents, lost their unemployment insurance when benefits expired on December 28. I am proud to be a Member of the Congressional Full Employment Caucus – a Caucus that will work diligently and effectively to find solutions to our current unemployment crisis while advocating for any and all legislative strategies to combat the issue at hand.”

Congressman José Serrano (D-N.Y.): “I was proud to join the Full Employment Caucus, to focus on creating and sustaining good jobs. In too many of our communities – particularly the Hispanic and black communities – unemployment is at levels not seen in the rest of the nation since the Great Depression. We cannot rest until people in all communities have access to good jobs as well as the training and skills they need get them. Our nation is stronger when everyone is employed.”

Congressman Mike Quigley (D-Ill.): “Even as America’s economy is steadily improving, American workers are being left behind. Congress has a responsibility to change that, which is why I’m proud to join this effort and work towards meaningful legislation that will create jobs, grow our economy and strengthen the middle class.”

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