Yvette Clarke: “Let me thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I'd like to thank my colleague, Mr. Horsford of Nevada, and my colleague and neighbor…”

“Let me thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I'd like to thank my colleague, Mr. Horsford of Nevada, and my colleague and neighbor from Brooklyn, New York, the Honorable Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, for yielding their time and for their tremendous leadership, week in and week out, in providing a view into the Congressional Black Caucus perspective on the issues of the day. Mr. Speaker, it has been nearly 5 years since our Nation experienced the worst financial calamity since the Great Depression. However, as our economy continues to recover, unemployment remains stubbornly high, sitting at 7.5 percent nationally, with unemployment at 13.2 percent and 9 percent, respectively, for African Americans and Latino Americans. As a member of the House Small Business Committee, I know the challenges facing our Nation's minority-owned small businesses and entrepreneurs, from access to capital, a problem for minority-owned and disadvantaged small businesses in the best of economic times, or a lack of access to knowledge and information of the available options to assist them. I understand that we must--that we must work increasingly and unceasingly to ensure that, even as the media focuses on the booming stock market, that our Nation's real job creators are not forgotten, not marginalized and overlooked. Their success is vital, not only for a more robust recovery, but it is to fully addressing our Nation's national employment crisis. Ironically enough, Mr.…”