Anderson@Large

Why Transparency Matters

Today marks the end of the first quarter of Year Two of implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Recipients of stimulus funds must submit their quarterly reports beginning tomorrow. The reports will be posted here on April 30.

But this we already know: More than a third of stimulus funds have been spent. And minority entrepreneurs are still asking: Where are the contracts?

Roughly 80 percent of stimulus spending is at the state and local levels. But Pennsylvania is the only state that tracks and reports on minority business participation on stimulus-funded projects.

In an interview with Cynthia Gordy, Washington Correspondent for Essence magazine, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood noted:

The fact that so many of these disadvantaged businesses have gone to their members of Congress and said, “We don't have access,” I think is something Congress will consider [establishing minority business goals].

Transparency matters. It is about having information in real-time so that the public can hold elected officials and policymakers accountable.

In the absence of data, minority entrepreneurs will continue to complain. Right now, they don’t know whether their lack of access to stimulus opportunities is due to business as usual, lack of capacity, lack of capital or construction bonds, or lack of trying.

Last weekend, I attended Transparency Camp 2010 in DC. While the event attracted its share of geeks and goo-goos, the discussions went beyond open government as an abstract ideal. Folks want access data to turn ideas into action, whether it’s election protection or MBE participation.

One session leader, Robert Damashek, observed:

Data promotes shared awareness of what’s going on … If we have a shared awareness, we would understand why government is doing what it’s doing.

As for how much data is enough, Damashek said:

Enough knowledge for the public to make good decisions so that they don’t just bit complain about it.

The bottom line: In the public policy space, there’s no such thing as being too transparent. The more data the better.

We’ll Remember in November

That’s the rallying cry of tea partiers who oppose President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul agenda.

It is said that imitation is the highest form of flattery. So, it’s a testament to the effectiveness of black voter empowerment groups that their mobilization message has been co-opted by Obama’s opponents.

Consider: The National Urban League’s 2010 Equality Index found little change in African Americans’ progress vis-à-vis white Americans in every category, including unemployment, educational attainment and household income. The sole exception was civic engagement:

The 2010 Equality Index for the black-white comparison stands at 71.8%, compared to the revised 2009 index of 71.2%.

The 0.6 percentage point increase in this year’s overall index represents the first one-year uptick in the last four years. This uptick is largely driven by the increase in the civic engagement index (97.6% in 2009 to 102.2% in 2010) which was mostly due to the black voter turnout in the 2008 Presidential elections.

Yes, but will black voters remember to turn out on November 2? Election Day is seven months from today.

LaHood: We’re Going to Step It Up

Last week, the U.S. Department of Transportation held a two-day summit to help disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs) compete for stimulus-funded contracts.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that DBEs have received more than $1.3 billion in Recovery funds:

We’ve made significant strides over the last year in reaching out to small businesses around the country and providing the tools they need to compete and to thrive in this tough economy. The contracts we have awarded have kept a lot of small businesses going and many jobs were saved or created.

In an interview with TV One’s Roland Martin, LaHood was asked what is being done to ensure implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is fair and equitable.

While touting the contracts awarded to date, LaHood said “we’re going to step it up”:

But – but we need to do better. We need to communicate more. I’ve – I’ve talked to the governors. The governors need to make sure that disadvantaged businesses know when they have the money and are ready to spend it. And we – we’re really going to – we’re going to step it up. Part of our job is to step it up and to get the information out to folks.

[…]

I talked to them [governors] when they were here in Washington for their annual governors meeting. I told them, “You need to get this information out,” and we’re going to continue to work 24/7 until every disadvantaged, women-owned business has the information about what money is in the states and how they can access it and how they can put people to work.

I want to give a shout-out to Roland. While so many African American leaders and advocates are scared to speak up, Roland has been a consistent voice for using “political power to advance economic power.”

BTW, Roland will moderate the National Action Network’s April 17th “Black Leadership 12-Month Action Plan Session” in New York City. The forum is free and open to the public.

To register for the event, go here.

Census 2010: Take Ten Minutes

It’s no joke. April 1 is Census Day.

As of March 25, the national participation rate is 20 percent. To check the participation rate in your community, go here.

Your census form should be in the mail so be on the lookout. If you haven’t received it by April 12, call the Telephone Questionnaire Assistance Center.

Census 2010, it's in our hands.

State of Black America 2010

At a press conference at the Newseum in Washington, DC, the National Urban League released its annual report, “State of Black America 2010: Responding to the Jobs Crisis,” a fact-based analysis of the problems facing the African American community and innovative solutions to address joblessness and minority business development.

Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial said:

What is at stake for black America in 2010? We are at a time of, one, crisis. And we are at a time of crossroads … We are at a time of crisis because we cannot yield a blind eye…to the manner in which this recession has affected our community.

[…]

We’re here today because we want to send the most powerful message, the strongest message possible. That a nation that can invest trillions of dollars bailing out banks on Wall Street can and should pass a jobs bill that helps out-of-work Americans.

Morial called for targeted programs and initiatives to help the chronically unemployed.

A new report from the Joint Economic Committee found that “though African Americans make up 11.5 percent of the labor force, they account for 17.8 percent of the unemployed, 20.3 percent of those unemployed for more than six months, and 22.1 percent of the workers unemployed for a year or more.”

He debunked the notion of a “black jobs bill.” Instead, emphasis should be placed on communities where the unemployment and poverty rates are high:

If the Department of Transportation doesn’t enforce its minority business goals and the Department of Labor doesn’t fund apprenticeship programs so that people in our communities [can get jobs], than these initiatives could bypass our communities. We cannot yield on the principle that targeting is a very important part of policy.

Morial questioned how we can commit $53 billion for a reconstruction plan for Baghdad, but there’s no money to put people to work in Baltimore, Boston and Binghamton:

If you can do it for Baghdad, why not cities right here? If you can do it for the banks, why not do it for the cities … It’s time for Washington and America to focus on jobs, jobs, jobs.

He asked his members to contact their representatives and urge them to co-sponsor the “Local Jobs for America Act” (H.R. 4812), which would create or save one million jobs in the hard-hit communities:

Our voices need to be about a plan. But they also need to be about priorities. America has to be about the priority of putting people back to work.

To help move the black agenda -- jobs, jobs, jobs -- make your voices heard. Contact your representative and senators and make some noise.

Black Farmers Making Hay in DC

A little over a month ago, Attorney General Eric Holder and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsac announced a $1.25 billion settlement in black farmers’ 10-year quest for justice.

Holder said:

Bringing this litigation to a close has been a priority for this Administration. With the settlement announced today, USDA and the African American farmers who brought this litigation can move on to focus on their future. The plaintiffs can move forward and have their claims heard - with the federal government standing not as an adversary, but as a partner.

That’s the good news. Black farmers will be paid $50,000 each to settle their claims of discrimination by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The bad news is that $1.15 billion of the settlement is included in President Obama’s FY 2010 supplemental budget request.

Time is running out. March 31 is the agreed-upon deadline for Congress to act on the appropriations request.

Congress takes a two-week spring recess, beginning Friday. So, black farmers are heading back to DC.

They will hold a rally today at 2:00 pm at the House Triangle in front of the U.S. Capitol (north side). The speakers will include:

• John Boyd Jr., founder and president of the National Black Farmers Association
• Rep. John Conyers Jr.
• Rep. Artur Davis
• Rep. Bobby Scott
• Sen. Kay Hagan

For more info, visit www.nbfarally.com.

Obama to Sign Historic Healthcare Bill

President Barack Obama will deliver remarks and sign the landmark health insurance reform legislation today at 11:15 a.m., in the White House East Room. The signing ceremony will be streamed live.

Most of the provisions do not kick in until 2014, but there are some immediate benefits (h/t Black Youth Vote):

90 Days after Enactment (June 2010)

• Access to insurance through a temporary “high-risk pool” for Americans who were denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition. This will benefit the 15 percent of young Americans who suffer from chronic conditions.

6 Months after Date of Enactment (September 2010)

• Allow young Americans to remain on their parents’ health insurance until their 26th birthday. Over 2 million previously uninsured young adults will benefit from this provision.
• Prohibit health plans from dropping individuals’ coverage when they get sick.
• Ban lifetime limits on covered benefits.
• Prohibit restrictive annual limits on benefits (all annual limits banned by 2014).
• Require pre-deductible preventive care services with no cost-sharing under all new plans (applies to all existing plans by 2018).

January 1, 2011

• Require all plans to spend 80 percent (for small/individual plans) or 85 percent (for large group plans) of premiums on medical services. Those who fail to do so must submit rebates to consumers.

Benefits after Full Implementation (January 1, 2014)

• Expand Medicaid to cover every American earning less than 133 percent of the federal poverty level, providing coverage to 9 million currently uninsured young adults.
• Provide tax credits for purchasing health insurance to individuals who lack employer-provided insurance and earn less than 400 percent of the federal poverty level.
• Ban denial of coverage based on pre-existing conditions.
• Limit insurance companies to charging older adults no more than three times the insurance premiums of younger adults.
• Establish state insurance exchanges to facilitate market competition and enforce minimum benefit standards.
• Offer young adults under age 30 the option of purchasing a low-cost catastrophic plan.

Already, Republicans are drafting bills to repeal health reform. Republican attorneys general in at least 12 states are gearing up to challenge the constitutionality of the legislation “the moment Obama signs the bill.”

For his part, Obama will hit the road on Thursday to sell Obamacare to the 56 percent of Americans who still oppose the healthcare overhaul.

And it will be a hard sell. A CBS News poll found that only 20 percent of Americans think the bill will help them personally.