| |  | | | | The building blocks of our economy
On Tuesday, I was proud to welcome 1,600 participants to the opening of the 12th Annual Department of Energy Small Business Conference and Expo. The U.S. DoE is the largest civilian contracting agency within the Federal government. The conference was a great opportunity not only for the small businesses of the Fifth District, but also for small businesses around the country, who can benefit from grant opportunities, contracting openings, and subcontracting options.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Kansas City Mayor Sly James, and NNSA Administrator Tom D'Agostino also offered remarks at the conference. The Color Guard of Lincoln College Preparatory Academy, JROTC, Tiger Battalion presented the flag, and Bryan Pinkall of The University of Missouri Kansas City, sang the National Anthem.
One of the few things my colleagues and I can seem to agree on here in Washington is that small businesses are the building blocks of our economy. I was proud to be a part of the Small Business Conference, and to help provide small business owners with information and assistance.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson visits Children's Mercy Hospital
In honor of Asthma Awareness month, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson visited our very own Children's Mercy Hospital to speak on the EPA's Communities in Action Asthma Initiative. As one of the leading children's hospitals in the nation, Children's Mercy was a fitting location to share information about environmental factors, found indoors and outdoors, that trigger asthma.
If you want to join the EPA and thousands of other organizations in the national effort to raise awareness of asthma in your community, click here to find out how you can share, plan or learn about activities taking place across the country.
A meeting with the President
Yesterday, the Congressional Black Caucus, of which I am proud to Chair, met with President Obama. As I first shared with you in November of last year, being Chair has delivered far more good for our District than bad. I have had the chance to be at the center of many national discussions and be in a better position to push for even more jobs and resources for our community. Because my party now occupies the minority in the House, the challenges have been greater. I have spent a great deal of my career in Congress reaching across the aisle. Those efforts are more important now than ever.
It is always an honor to meet with the President. At the same time, it is a challenge to convey the concerns that deserve the most attention. For that task, I turned to you.
Now, my wife will be the first to tell you that I am not the most "tech-savvy" person in the world. But with a little help from my staff, I have managed to catch up with e-newsletters, Twitter, and Facebook.
On Wednesday, on Facebook, I asked,
"What questions would you ask President Obama? Tomorrow, I will meet with the President as Chair of the CBC. I want to be your voice." |
The questions you shared ranged from concerns about immigration, education, our military presence in the Middle East, trade, taxes, and finally to gas prices, as well as many more important issues. The most popular topic, however, was jobs.
Ron asked to focus more on jobs and the homeless. Catie asked about efforts to stop the outsourcing of good-paying jobs to other countries. Mary asked about job creation. Erik asked why the focus was on deficit-cutting when our unemployment rate remains extraordinarily high.
While the overall trajectory of the economy has improved dramatically over the past two years, our national unemployment rate is at 9.0%. For the Kansas City metropolitan area, the unemployment rate was at 8.9% as of March 2011. I know President Obama understands the urgency of our unemployment situation, and I am satisfied that he has his utmost attention toward the situation. That said, I cannot be satisfied when the poor and the vulnerable are hurting, and when some of my colleagues want to balance our federal budget on the backs of the least of these.
In yesterday's conversation, we exchanged creative ideas on how best to create jobs and improve our economy. It is a pleasure to represent you in these conversations with the President. Please know that I am committed to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and with President Obama to get America back to work.
H.R. 754, the FY 2011 Intelligence Authorization
Car Free Challenge
The Car Free Challenge, part of Greater Kansas City Bike Week 2011, begins tomorrow, May 14, 2011.
The Car-Free Challenge is a friendly competition that encourages Kansas Citians to reduce the number of trips that we take by ourselves in our automobiles. Great prizes are available for the folks that log the most miles and/or the most trips. It all counts and it all helps us get out and enjoy the beautiful weather and have a good time while improving our health and the environment.
For more information, or to sign up: click here |
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Last week, with the death of the most wanted terrorist in the world, I commended our entire intelligence apparatus on a job well done. As a former member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, I know firsthand the hard work of our intelligence community, armed forces, and other critical partners in the overall fight against terrorism.
Quite fittingly, this week the House passed H.R. 754, the Intelligence Authorization Act. This legislation sets policies and priorities for the intelligence community for FY 2011. On Thursday, the bill passed with my support, by a vote of 392 to 15. This legislation provides policy guidance and authorizes classified funding levels for 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, including the CIA, the National Security Agency, and the Defense Intelligence Agency, and for other intelligence-related activities of the federal government. The men and women in the military and intelligence community who helped locate Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden exemplify the extraordinary courage and skills of those who work tirelessly to keep our country safe.
I know the Administration has a number of concerns with the bill, and I look forward to working to address them. For further information, click here.
An important mission
As an avowed animal lover, I have long appreciated the work done by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) founded in 1895. The WCS works to save wildlife and wild places across the globe--an important mission today.
With a commitment to protect 25 percent of the world's biodiversity, the WCS addresses four of the biggest issues facing wildlife and wild places: climate change; natural resource exploitation; the connection between wildlife health and human health; and the sustainable development of human livelihoods.
They also occasionally visit the halls of Congress. Their Animal Ambassadors help raise awareness, promote conservation, and teach people about our planet's wildlife and wild places. They also bite--a lesson I will not soon forget.
Follow me on Twitter!
You can now follow me @repcleaver. As always, I look forward to hearing from you.
Click here to add me >>> https://twitter.com/repcleaver
Emanuel Cleaver, II
Member of Congress
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