National Urban League statement on the State of the Union Address

Last night, President Obama acknowledged the deep pain the economic crisis has caused American families who are suffering the loss of a job or home, who have seen the value of retirement accounts fall dramatically, or who have experienced a medical crisis without the safety net of health insurance.

We applaud his early efforts to avoid an even deeper financial disaster through the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the millions who have benefited from the extension of Unemployment Insurance, reductions in the cost of COBRA and the tax cuts given to 95% of working families. 

While the President’s plans for job creation as presented in last night’s State of the Union address are an important first step in extending to small business much needed credit and offering incentives for them to hire, raise wages and invest in plants and equipment, we feel there is still much work to do in order to have a significant impact on the nearly 10 million jobs deficit that currently exists in this country.

The magnitude of this crisis demands bold and unprecedented steps in order to meet the unprecedented challenges presented by this recession.  To that end, the National Urban League has proposed a comprehensive six point plan to make a direct investment of $168 billion over 2 years to address the most urgent needs of American families in economic crisis by investing in direct job creation, job training for the chronically unemployed, greater access to credit for small business and additional counseling relief for those caught in the backlog of the foreclosure process.  The plan also proposes tax incentives for clean energy equipment manufacturers who open plants and employ individuals in areas with chronically high levels of unemployment. 

We look forward to working with the Administration and the Congress to help craft a robust plan to restore the nation’s economy.