Andre Carson: “It is no secret to anyone in this Chamber that the American people are unhappy with Congress. In fact, our approval…”

“It is no secret to anyone in this Chamber that the American people are unhappy with Congress. In fact, our approval ratings could only be described as terrible. As much as television personalities might like to analyze why, I don't think it's difficult to understand. Time and time again, Mr. Chairman, our work ignores their priorities. Now, under Republican leadership, we have spent months arguing over eliminating regulations, shrinking government, and crippling the Obama administration. Yet since the lowest point of economic downturn in 2008, the American people have cared mostly about two things: good jobs and stable housing. These are issues that have hit the African American community especially hard, which is why I come to the floor today with several of my colleagues from the Congressional Black Caucus. Today, Mr. Chairman, unemployment among African Americans is above 13 percent, much higher than the national average. Concerns about stable housing are really nothing new, but they have been especially difficult since the start of our recession. In fact, 42 percent of homeless families with children are African American. So we were all glad to see the House take up the Transportation-HUD bill this week. We hoped to see some relief for our struggling communities. But sadly, this bill falls short. It fails to adequately fund project-based section 8 rental assistance for low-income families. That means over 1.2 million families, Mr.…”