WASHINGTON, DC — The day after she was sworn into the 111th Congress, Rep. Yvette D. Clarke of Brooklyn announced her 2009 legislative agenda, which puts the housing crisis near the top of her list of critical issues facing her district.

“Our country is in the midst of one of the worse economic downturns of our time, and the year ahead will be difficult,� said Clarke in a published statement. “Although we have a lot of work ahead of us, my colleagues and I are already working to find the best policy solutions to get our country back on track. I plan to implement an agenda for the 111th Congress that will tackle the housing crisis, help to create jobs, aid our schools and bolster our struggling small businesses.�

Clarke was re-elected in November with 94 percent of the vote and was also sworn in as Whip of the Congressional Black Caucus on Tuesday.

“As the youngest Black woman serving in Congress, I’m honored that my colleagues have elected me as Whip of the Congressional Black Caucus,� she said. “It is a privilege to follow in the footsteps of such pioneering members like Shirley Chisholm. I look forward to continuing the legacy of leadership and service with our newly-elected chairwoman, Barbara Lee, and my colleagues as we address the challenges facing people of color and the disadvantaged throughout the United States and the global community.�

She currently sits on the House committees on Education and Labor, Small Business and Homeland Security.

Focus on Housing

For the 111th session she plans to:

• Push through the reauthorization of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, which provides communities with resources to address a wide range of community development needs, like affordable housing, services to the most vulnerable in our communities and creating jobs through the expansion and retention of businesses.

• Help raise the visibility of rental housing issues on the national stage and encourage debate about the federal government’s role.

• Improve the quality of public housing by reintroducing the Real Estate Assessment Center Inspection Improvement Act of 2008, a bill that requires the HUD secretary to take necessary actions to improve the activities of the center for the physical assessment and inspection of public housing and federally assisted multi-family housing.

• Support legislation that builds on lessons from HUD’s public housing reform program HOPE VI, targeting resources to replace distressed and overly concentrated public housing with mixed-income developments, while preserving affordable options for low-income households.

Clarke also announced her 2009 priorities related to small business.

“I plan to implement an agenda for the 111th Congress that will ... help to create jobs ... and bolster our struggling small businesses,� she said.

As a member of the Small Business Committee, she plans to advocate and lead efforts on improving the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) special contracting programs to allow small businesses owned by disadvantaged individuals or located in impoverished areas to compete for government contracts, including those identified as minority- and women owned businesses.

As a member of the Education and Labor Committee, she will work toward reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act, which addresses retraining and training issues; and she will seek funding for local apprenticeship programs as well as propose a creation of a national apprenticeship program.

She also said she will seek to reintroduce H.R. 7087, which amends the Small Business Act to direct the SBA administrator to establish a grant program with funds available to state and local governments.

Such funds would be used to assist eligible small businesses in building their capacity and access to contracting opportunities, in particular, women and socially and economically disadvantaged enterprises.

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