WASHINGTON ---Today, I along with members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), introduced a landmark piece of legislation aimed at advancing economic and social justice for families across Maryland and throughout the United States.
The Jobs and Justice Act of 2020 is a comprehensive legislative package made up of 200 bills and comprised of two key parts. The first section pertains to jobs. These bills include several key measures that aim to advance economic opportunities in underserved communities. The provisions address issues related to infrastructure investment, workforce development, poverty alleviation, small business support, housing and wealth creation, and investments in education.
The second set of bills include measures pertaining to social justice, including criminal justice, health care justice, environmental justice, and provisions to address the high rate of Black & Latino Americans affected by Covid-19. Additional key measures included in the bill aim to improve relationships with local law enforcement and the communities they serve. This section also includes provisions to expand access to the ballot box.
"If we are serious about addressing both the historical and contemporary causes of inequity in our country, we must move beyond rhetoric and enact real reforms that address disparities in wealth, housing, education, health, employment, and our criminal justice system.
In the 7th District, our neighborhoods serve as a reminder of how government policies facilitated wealth for some, while stripping other communities of the same opportunity. In the same way that deliberate government actions created our current state of racial inequity, bold and
intentional policies are required to address the imminent and long-term needs of Black & poor Americans. This bill is a first step in righting 300 years of wrongdoing."
If passed, this proposal will be the US Congress' most comprehensive bill specifically aimed at increasing the economic mobility of marginalized families.
Major Highlights of the Bill:
- Raises the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
- Provides funding to make college more affordable /address the student loan debt crisis.
- Strengthens Pell Grant funding.
- Expands grants for HBCU's to help with acquiring the technological resources needed to continue offering competitive academic programs in the STEM field.
- Applies the 10-20-30 formula to direct additional resources to communities with a history of high poverty.
- Invests in emergency relief to address homelessness and increase access to mortgage financing.
- Provides $7.5 billion to help specifically upgrade water infrastructure and ensure clean drinking water for families.
- Makes the work opportunity tax credit permanent.
- Encourages businesses contracted to rebuild infrastructure to recruit actively, hire, and provide on-the-job training to Black men ages 18 to 39 through existing jobs, apprenticeships, and "earn while you learn" programs.
- Establishes a grant program to subsidize summer jobs for young people ages 14 to 24 and year-round employment for youths ages 16 to 24 who are out of school and work.
- Ensures the stability of the Minority Business Development Agency. Black-owned companies will benefit from greater access to capital, contracts, and markets to help black-owned firms.
- Incentives to support small businesses with tax credits, training, and direct loans through the Small Business Administration as an alternative to the private lending market.
- Creates local incubators for small businesses and startups.
- Establishes "baby bonds" to give every American child a seed savings account of $1,000 at birth to aid with long term savings goals.
- Expands the Earned Income Tax Credit.
- Increases SNAP benefits.
- Protects the Affordable Care Act and strengthens Medicare and Medicaid.
- Provides robust funding to combat the COVID-19 pandemic through targeted contact tracing, testing, and treatment, along with research and data.
- Provides reforms to transform policing through the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
- Expands access to the ballot, restores the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and extending voting rights to the residents of the District of Columbia and all U.S. territories and commonwealths.
For additional information about the Jobs and Justice Act of 2020, or to request an interview or statement from Congressman Mfume, please contact Rhonda Craig.