9:20am | On Thursday the Long Beach Democratic Club will co-host a rally in support of the American Jobs Act as part of the AFL-CIO’s “America Wants to Work” National Week of Action.
“Here in Long Beach we face upwards of a 14-percent unemployment rate, [so] Long Beach needs to have a part in the national dialog [concerning] jobs,” Club President Rex Richardson says. “It’s important [for us to help] to show that there is support of this bill all over the country.”
Among those slated to show up on Thursday in support of the American Jobs Act are Councilmembers Steven Neal and Gerrie Schipske, along with representatives of Housing Long Beach, the Long Beach Coalition for Good Jobs and Healthy Communities, the AFL-CIO, and MoveOn.org, all of whom are co-hosting the event. The rally will take place at the Lone Sailor Navy Memorial located on Ocean Blvd. at Paloma Ave.
Although the most recent version of the American Jobs Act failed on Tuesday night to get the 60 votes required to move the bill (SB S.1660) to the House of Representatives, Richardson says there is no question that an amended version will eventually make it there — and that its passage by the House is the real battle.
The Long Beach Democratic Club states that, if passed, the American Jobs Act “would support job creating initiatives and benefits for working-class Americans such as the ‘Returning Heroes’ tax credit for Veterans, tax cuts to help small businesses hire and grow, and investments in rebuilding and modernizing America.”
Additionally, the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation had “estimate[d] that, in total, enacting S. 1660 would decrease deficits by about $6 billion over the 2012-2021 period.”1
Richardson states that while Congressmembers Laura Richardson and Loretta Sanchez have shown support for the provisions of the American Jobs Act, to his knowledge Dana Rohrabacher has not. According to Rex Richardson, “We intend to send a message to Congressmember Dana Rohrabacher that Long Beach needs jobs, not cuts!”
Richardson says that while he does not view the American Jobs Act as a partisan issue, since redistricting has changed the political landscape in Long Beach from being heavily Democratic traditionally to “up for grabs … this issue — job creation — is a good issue for Long Beach Democrats — and Long Beach residents in general — to get behind.”
The rally in support of the American Jobs Act takes place Thursday, October 13, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. For more information on this rally, e-mail [email protected].