The Priorities for the Members of the New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus are the Following:
Economic and Social Justice for Minorities and Women
Today, New Jersey’s unemployment rate is one of the highest in the country at 7.6% and is expected to increase substantially over the next few months. It is no secret that the unemployment rate due to the lack of jobs and business opportunities negatively affects Minorities and Women the most.
The City of Newark unemployment rate is beyond 16%. New Jersey has a history of not ensuring equal employment opportunities for such citizens in government, the construction field, and in the world of business.
Over the years members of the Legislature has promulgated legislation that was signed into law by various Governors of this state to provide jobs and business opportunities for minorities and women; however, administration after administration have failed to adequately meet its obligation to enforce the laws against violators.
The members of the New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus has made it a number one priority, to work with the Governor, the President of the New Jersey Senate and the Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly to make certain that the Governor’s Economic Assistance and Recovery Plan (Stimulus Plan) provides economic fairness and justice to minorities and women for jobs created, job training, and for professional service and construction contracts awarded in the public and private sectors in this state.
As we debate the budget and legislation that would hopefully stimulate our economy, it must be remembered that members of the New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus is an integral part of the process.
Our members stand ready to work with our labor and business leaders to accomplish this goal. “Communication is the key to cooperation; and cooperation is the key to our collective success to ensure economic and social injustice” for minorities and women.
**Healthcare**
The greatest number of hospital closures in New Jersey has been in the urban cities. It is well known that the urban municipalities and their suburdan borderline cities, are where the largest number of minorities, single head of household women, homeless, residents with HIV and AIDS, victims of violent crimes, the mentally-ill population and persons who can least afford quality healthcare reside in this state. These are also the cities with the worse environmental health problems and violent crimes.
The negative impact of hospital closures has a direct negative impact on hospital emergency room treatment, the medical transportation system, the mentally-ill population, community health centers, women given birth to new-born children, infant mortality, senior citizens, employment of working family members and the education of our students.
The members of the New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus are very much aware that “University healthcare” is not going to come about any time soon; thus our members have establish as a priority the enhancement of funding for our medical institutions as such funds relate to the services they must provide to the indigent population and to residents who cannot afford healthcare. We are committed to the establishment of more Community Healthcare Centers within the urban communities, a review and analysis of our medical transportation system and proper funding to provide the human resources, technology and equipment needed to serve the state’s residents with the greatest medical needs.
**Education**
The members of the New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus, like members in the administration and our legislative colleagues have had the opportunity to get a quality education in our public school system and in our state and community colleges.
As, our history depicts, we know the importance and value of a quality public school system and an education beyond high school for all students. Therefore, we are committed to continuing our efforts to increase the dollars that are needed to help subsidize the college tuition of students via EOF, Tag Grants and the Stars programs who want to attend college but cannot due to affordability.
Education opportunities must be available for all New Jersey’s students, not just a privileged few.
**Affordable Housing**
The number of housing foreclosures in this State grew almost over-night to be one of the highest in the nation for people losing their homes. The greatest impact on working families and tenants alike has been in the urban cities and counties.
The members of the New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus, working with the Governor, our leadership and colleagues in the Senate and General Assembly, members of the administration and our non-profit community organizations such as Citizen Action, the New Jersey Housing Network, Clergy members and others have passed and had signed into law what is said by many to be the “best foreclosure help legislation” in the country to date.
Our members know that there is still much work to be done in trying to save residents from losing their homes. Therefore, we have deemed it a priority to continue to do all that we can through legislation to prevent this crisis from occurring in the future. We will work with the Governor and our colleagues to demise predatory lending and fraud schemes in this State.
We are committed to continuing our support and work to find ways and means to reduce the high cost of home heating fuel and to help residents who cannot afford the high cost of heating their homes; and we will do all that we can to clean-up the unsanitary and unhealthy conditions and environment in the shelters for the homeless.
The goal of our priority in this area is to work to create more affordable and decent housing units for permanent living, rather than continuing to pay the high cost of housing families to “slum-lords” for a short stay in a shelter environment that is unhealthy, unsafe and drug-infested.
**After-School Programs for our Youth**
In New Jersey we spend a lot of time in state and local governments talking and debating the issue of street gangs and failed school systems. Unfortunately, we do not spend enough time developing opportunities and programs for our children and their family members to enhance family values and to provide academic and recreational support systems for our youth.
The members of the New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus remain committed to promulgating Legislation and to identifying ways and means to provide a sufficient amount of funding for such opportunities and programs.
As a priority issue, it is important that government takes seriously our responsibility to our children by addressing the need to deter our youth from gangs, drugs and criminal activities. There must be stronger and more transparent focus on prevention rather than incarceration of urban youth in particular and others throughout this State.
**Re-Entry Programs**
Assemblywoman and Majority-Leader Bonnie Watson-Coleman has done a terrific job traveling up and down this State holding hearings on the need to prepare inmates who are re-entering society from the prison system. Her efforts have been to not only make certain that the right programs, training and educational opportunities are in place within the correctional institutions for inmates serving their terms but just as important, to make certain that there are programs, educational, training and job opportunities available for inmates and their families once they are released from the institutions.
The members of the New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus are committed to continuing our support of her efforts to reduce the recidivism rate for those who are returning back to their communities in New Jersey. we will continue our support of her efforts to remove those barriers that deny real opportunities to inmates and their families in meeting their needs; and her efforts to prevent our youth from falling victim to the Criminal Justice System.
In closing, as we collectively work to pass a balanced budget by July 1, 2009, our members firmly believe that “Communication is the key to cooperation; Cooperation is the key through this tough budget year.”
The members of the New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus are confident the Governor, Senate President, Speaker of the General Assembly and our colleagues in both Houses of Legislature will work together with us to make certain that our priorities receive just and fair consideration during the budget deliberations and debates.
No comments:
Post a Comment