By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell (D-Selma) released a press statement yesterday supporting President Obama’s announced Summer Jobs Initiative for youth. In her statement Rep. Sewell said, “I was very pleased to hear President Obama’s announcement of the Summer Jobs+ initiative today. America faces few more urgent challenges than preparing our children to compete in a global economy.”
Rep. Sewell went on “By partnering with business leaders and local communities, we are providing our youth with valuable real world experience.”
Congresswoman Sewell said that “in Alabama, the unemployment and poverty rates have both increased dramatically in the wake of the most recent recession. In parts of the 7th Congressional District, unemployment rates are as high as 19 percent. Initiatives such as the one announced today by President Obama is critical for our youth and is essential to lowering the unemployment rate. This initiative will help get Alabama and America back to work.”
Sewell said, “The decisions our leaders make about education in the coming years could help provide opportunities and shape our future for generations to come. I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues in Congress on a comprehensive plan to encourage job creation and strengthen economic development in the 7th Congressional District, the State of Alabama and this nation.”
Rep. Sewell’s statement came in response to President Barack Obama’s announcement that the federal government had formed numerous public private partnerships to attempt to create 180,000 summer jobs this summer jobs.
In his statement President Barack Obama said, “America’s young people face record unemployment, and we need to do everything we can to make sure they’ve got the opportunity to earn the skills and a work ethic that come with a job. It’s important for their future, and for America’s. That’s why I proposed a summer jobs program for youth in the American Jobs Act – a plan that Congress failed to pass. America’s youth can’t wait for Congress to act. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment. That’s why today, we’re launching Summer Jobs+, a joint initiative that challenges business leaders and communities to join my Administration in providing hundreds of thousands of summer jobs for America’s youth.”
Republicans in the U.S. Congress have been reluctant to support President Barack Obama’s calls for additional stimulus spending and temporary job bills because of their concerns that the national debt has risen to $15.2 trillion and is growing at the rate of $1.3 trillion a year.
Congresswoman Terri Sewell represents Alabama’s 7th Congressional District. The Seventh District consists of all or parts of Jefferson, Perry, Hale, Tuscaloosa, Dallas, Choctaw, Clarke, Greene, Marengo, Wilcox, Sumter, and Pickens counties.
Read the White House’s Press Release here:
Read Congresswoman Terri Sewell’s statement here.
