South Bay Leaders Make Push For American Jobs Act
SAN JOSE (KCBS) – Congressional and local leaders in Silicon Valley are trying to rally support for President Barack Obama's American Jobs Act, which will be voted on by the Senate on Tuesday.
Congressman Mike Honda said that the $447 billion measure would create thousands of jobs and also have a big impact in areas that have a large Latino population such as San Jose.
KCBS' Mike Colgan Reports:
"We've found that the communities of color are disproportionately affected. According to the Bureau of Legal and Statistics, in a report that was released on Friday, the unemployment rate nationwide is 9.1 percent," said Honda. "However, in the Latino community, things are even worse as the unemployment rate is over 11 percent."
San Jose City Councilman Xavier Campos, who represents a mostly Hispanic district in East San Jose, said the bill would put a lot of people in his district back to work.
"This will help small businesses flourish and survive and it will also give opportunities for new businesses to start," Campos said.
Republicans have accused the president of engaging in class warfare and are expected to prevent the bill from getting the necessary 60 votes to clear the Senate.
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