Floyd Flake: “I rise today in support of the Congressional Black Caucus budget. There is a question that I am consistently asked. That…”

“I rise today in support of the Congressional Black Caucus budget. There is a question that I am consistently asked. That is, how do we change our equations as it relates to the amount of money we spend for what many in this Nation call social programming. Social programming, to many, is that investment, the moneys that we give in entitlement programs for the support of welfare, the support of health care, the support of our jails. The Congressional Black Caucus budget treats this item differently. I think all of us in America need to change our attitude as it relates to what we call social. It is time for us to start thinking about investments. That is the reason in the Congressional Black Caucus budget, Members will find $628 million made available for the President's Community Financial Bank Institution Development Program. It is important for us to understand that many of the cities in this Nation could become very productive communities, if, in fact, we learned how to invest in them, as we do in most instances when there are opportunities for us not only to rebuild but to build the small job sector, to be able to build small businesses, to turn around those stores, those blocks of commercial strips that have been ignored for the most part for the last 25 or 30 years.”