| |  | | | | Join me Saturday for Coffee with Cleaver at Niecie's!
Since taking office I have visited a coffee shop once a month. In every part of the District, from Lone Jack to Sugar Creek, Midtown and Lee's Summit, it has become a great way for me to hear the concerns of the people I am proud to serve. This month's coffee is hosted by Niecie's, located at 8686 East 63rd Street, in Kansas City.
Please come by this Saturday morning, to share your thoughts with me, one-on-one over a cup of coffee.
From Chief Lomax to U.S. Marshal Lomax
Last Friday, on August 19, 2011, I was honored to attend a ceremonial swearing in for our new U.S. Marshal, the Honorable Alfred C. Lomax.
Al Lomax and I have known each other since I was Mayor of Kansas City. Mr. Lomax joined the Kansas City Police Department in 1963, and later served as the Deputy Chief of the Investigation Bureau of the Kansas City Police Department, a position from which he retired in 1992. He then became the head of Airport Police at Kansas City International Airport. Marshal Lomax was officially sworn in as U.S. Marshal on Wednesday, July 13, 2011, in Washington, D.C, but I know the ceremony we had in Kansas City meant much to him.
I know Al will bring to the U.S. Marshal's office the same integrity and professionalism that has become his trademark over his thirty years of public service. It was my honor to recommend him to the President, and I was pleased to see that my colleagues in the Senate agreed.
The Opening of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
The day has come when we give a much deserved honor to a man of peace, hope and love in the nation's capital. During this historic time, it is not only important to reflect on this exemplary advocate of civil rights, but we must also reflect on how far we have come together as a nation—and how far we still need to go. While the dedication ceremony has been postponed to an undetermined date due to Hurricane Irene, I applaud the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Foundation on a job well done in completing the monument and wish them great success in the events that will still occur today and Saturday. If you are in the DC area, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial will be open to the public today, August 25 from noon until 10 p.m. and Saturday, August 26 from 8 a.m. to noon.
Many years ago, Dr. King fought for economic justice with his ‘Poor People's Campaign', which advocated an Economic Bill of Rights that guaranteed annual income for all Americans. He believed in Whitney Young, Jr.'s statement that ‘the hardest work in the world is being out of work', and understood that the unemployed were suffering. It is with that spirit that the Congressional Black Caucus is continuing the fight for economic justice with our "For the People" Jobs Initiative, which includes town hall meetings and job fairs all over this great nation.
The Congressional Black Caucus continues Dr. King's unfinished work by serving as the voice of the voiceless, the face of the forgotten, and the ‘Conscience of the Congress'. Dr. King – champion of the non-violent movement— dedicated his life to right the wrongs of our country's past. He defended the defenseless, spoke for the voiceless, and stood on the side of justice and peace. As we take time to reflect today, let us remember why we fight and who we protect. The Congressional Black Caucus stands united in continuing to preserve and fight for Dr. King's dream and legacy.
A Report Card for the Recovery Act
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), also known as the stimulus, was not perfect. Some say it was a wasted opportunity, others see simply waste. We cannot go back to that time of economic catastrophe, but we must use every bit of information and data that we have to ensure we understand the effects of the legislation.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is required to study and notify Members of Congress on the results of ARRA—whether that be problems or progress. The CBO recently released its Estimated Impact Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act On Employment And Economic Output From April 2011 Through June 2011. CBO finds that in the second 3 months of this year, the Recovery Act continued to create and preserve significant numbers of jobs:
CBO estimates that ARRA's policies had the following effects in the second quarter of calendar year 2011 compared with what would have occurred otherwise:- They raised real (inflation-adjusted) gross domestic product (GDP) by between 0.8 percent and 2.5 percent,
- Lowered the unemployment rate by between 0.5 percentage points and 1.6 percentage points,
- Increased the number of people employed by between 1.0 million and 2.9 million, and
- Increased the number of full-time-equivalent jobs by 1.4 million to 4.0 million.
The effects of ARRA on output peaked in the first half of 2010 and have since diminished, CBO estimates. The effect of ARRA on employment and unemployment are estimated to lag slightly behind the effects on output; CBO estimates that the employment effects began to wane at the end of 2010 and continued to do so in the second quarter of 2011. Still, CBO estimates that, compared with what would have occurred otherwise, ARRA will raise real GDP in 2012 by between 0.3 percent and 0.8 percent and will increase the number of people employed in 2012 by between 0.4 million and 1.1 million.
CBO's current estimates reflect small revisions to its earlier projections of the timing and magnitude of changes to federal revenues and spending under ARRA. CBO now estimates that ARRA will increase budget deficits over the 2009–2019 period by $825 billion, slightly less than what we estimated in our May report. By CBO's estimate, close to half of that total impact occurred in fiscal year 2010, and about 85 percent of ARRA's budgetary impact was realized by the end of June 2011. |
The full report is available on CBO's website here.
Follow me on Twitter!
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Emanuel Cleaver, II
Member of Congress
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| Kansas City Office
101 W 31st St.
Kansas City, MO 64108
Phone: 816-842-4545
Fax: 816-471-5215 | Independence Office
211 West Maple Avenue
Independence, MO 64050
Phone: 816-833-4545
Fax: 816-833-2991 | Washington Office
1433 Longworth HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: 202-225-4535
Fax: 202-225-4403
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