Yvette Clarke

Why Haiti Means More in Brooklyn Than Anywhere Else!

Posted by David Montalvo

Rep. Yvette Clarke. Photograph by David Montalvo

It was 4:53 p.m. in New York when a catastrophic earthquake hit Haiti – and rattled a Haitian-American neighborhood 1,500 miles away in Brooklyn. Congresswoman Yvette Clarke immediately released a statement called, well, “Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke Releases Statement on 7.0 Earthquake Hitting Haiti.”

Though the title lacked originality, the statement represents, in many ways, the moment that Clarke, a fledgling congresswoman, began to define her political identity.

“Indeed, she is to be commended for her tireless efforts and commitment,” said Marc Prou, an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and a member of the Haitian Studies Association. “Congresswoman Yvette Clarke’s leadership work,” he said, makes her “a champion of the Haiti relief/rebuild effort.”

Congress had only been in session a few days before Haiti’s earthquake. There was little activity on the House floor. And Clarke’s office had only peddled three press releases, none of which had anything to do with lawmaking.

This is not to suggest that the fashionable congresswoman – who recently donned a leopard-print trench coat to chase after census-gazelles, slow on filling out their forms – is just sitting pretty on her committees or in her district.

This year, the two-term congresswoman had already introduced four bills between January and April, half of them about Haiti. This boosts Clarke’s annualized bill introductions to 16, up from 10 last year.

Though the number doesn’t come close to that of veteran New York City delegate, Rep. Charles Rangel – he introduced 40 bills last year and has served almost four decades in Congress – it does suggest that Clarke is gaining political confidence. GovTrack, a website that tracks Congressional activities, considers Clarke a “follower” – that is, she tends to cosponsor bills of other members of Congress who do not cosponsor her own bills – though it has sharply increased her leadership score to 70 out of 100, up from 30 last year and 10 from the year before.

True, she wasn’t the first lawmaker to introduce a bill relating to Haiti’s earthquake. But upon closer inspection of those first bills, many of them did more to protect Americans than to help Haitians.

One bill, for example, wants to reimburs states that provided treatment to illnesses resulting “directly or indirectly” from the earthquake. Another bill would honor American military service members in Haiti. Yet another sought for speedier income tax benefits in the hopes that those dollars are donated to Haiti relief organizations.

But for Clarke, a Caribbean-American and Brooklyn-native with one of the largest Haitian constituencies, helping Haiti is “a family affair” – words that seem to reflect just how deep in her nervous system this cause is to her: like global warming for Al Gore; like health care for Hillary Clinton.

“I have a real bias,” Clark said, adding a little hip action and humor to her speech one recent Saturday morning in Brooklyn. “I can’t help it. It’s in my blood.”

So in February, Clarke worked on legislation that would allow some 55,000 Haitians who already have approved immigration petitions to join their relatives in the United States. And the following month, she introduced legislation to encourage investment in small businesses owned by Haitian citizens.

She “has definitely been on target from the beginning,” said Yolette Williams, president of the Haitian American Alliance of New York, a volunteer organization, “and has demonstrated great leadership during this terrible time for Haiti.”

Williams said that Clarke not only “introduced bills in Congress to help with the reconstruction efforts of Haiti,” but she was also “instrumental in the rapid response by the US Army and worked closely with the White House to monitor the rescue efforts.”

But Clarke hasn’t just taken the needs of her Haitian constituency to Washington. She has also brought the federal government to her district’s doorstep.

In late April, the Haitian government asked for relief efforts to stop and for economic rebuild to begin. Clarke then sprung into action and called on the United States Agency for International Development to meet with businesses in her district that could help in this next phase.

Though the meeting began a half-hour late, Clarke hosted a get-together between USAID and about 70 businessmen and women in a Brooklyn church to discover contractual opportunities in Haiti.

“We rarely get to work with the members of Congress,” said Phil Gary, USAID’s chief of staff of the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance.

He then thanked Clarke, who stood by in a soft white pantsuit with a light-blue tweed coat, smiling.

As a result of this meeting, said Dr. Roy Hastick, president of the Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry, “a more formal structure is in place” to make it easier for small businesses to export their services to Haiti.

He said commerce organizations like his have to work with the US Department of Commerce and other federal agencies. And that’s not always an easy job when it comes to helping entrepreneurs export their businesses, he said.

But now, Hastick said, “I see some positive signs have started.”

Indeed, at the meeting, her successor in city council, Mathieu Eugene, who is the first Haitian-born official elected to New York City Council, turned to Clarke and said: “We in the Haitian community are lucky to have you.”

David Montalvo is a graduate journalism student in business and economics at the City University of New York, publishing stories in The New York Times – The Local, The Daily Green, am New York, Queens Courier, NYCity News Service and CUNY-TV. He will begin an internship at Crain’s New York Business in June.

"24" in Times Square

Posted by David Montalvo
FILE - In this file photo of Sunday, May 2, 2010 at a NYPD news conference in New York, a still photo from a surveillance camera shows a bomb-laden Nissan Pathfinder driving through crowds of people in Times Square on Saturday evening May 1, 2010. The bomb could have killed many people if it hadn't malfunctioned, but still, ongoing threats don't seem to be enough to get New Yorkers to beat a retreat from the crowded streets - or from the metropolis itself. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams, File)
FILE - In this file photo of Sunday, May 2, 2010 at a NYPD news conference in New York, a still photo from a surveillance camera shows a bomb-laden Nissan Pathfinder driving through crowds of people in Times Square on Saturday evening May 1, 2010. The bomb could have killed many people if it hadn't malfunctioned, but still, ongoing threats don't seem to be enough to get New Yorkers to beat a retreat from the crowded streets - or from the metropolis itself. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams, File)

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

It was a scene that could have been the plot of “24” – a t-shirt vendor in Times Square spots a smoky SUV on a hot afternoon, authorities rush to the scene to secure the area, New York officials return from a dinner party with the president in D.C. that evening, get briefed and address the media by early morning. And almost immediately – perhaps even a little miraculously – a suspect is arrested just before an international flight takes off.

And New York City is saved.

“I want to applaud the quick and coordinated response that led to the arrest of Faisal Shahzad, a suspect in the attempted Time Square bombing,” said New York City’s only Representative on the House Homeland Security Committee, Yvette Clarke, Tuesday, shortly after the Shahzad’s apprehension on an Emirates Airline flight to Dubai.

But instead of just surfacing the expected debate about the effectiveness of “no fly” lists and police budget cuts in the city, Shahzad, 30, a Pakistan-born naturalized American citizen, has also raised gun control issues.

Should the estimated 400,000 people on the “no fly” list, who are deemed to be potentially too dangerous to travel, also be deemed too dangerous to purchase fire arms?

Yes, says New York City Rep. Clarke.
Yes, says New York City Mayor Bloomberg.
Yes, says New York City Police Commissioner Kelly.

No, says South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.

“Some people believe banning handguns is the right answer to the gun violence problem,” Graham told Bloomberg and Kelly in Washington. “I’m not in that camp.”

Graham says that of the list of 400,000, he guesses that a small percentage of that number are American citizens or legal residents – the only groups, he said, that can legally buy guns.

But critics say gun show loop holes and lax gun shops make gun ownership much more accessible, so that percentage could be much higher.

“I don’t get it,” said Clarke on WNYC Thursday morning. “Clearly, you know, some people believe in the right to bear arms at all costs. And unfortunately it may cost several lives.”

If Clarke, Bloomberg and Kelly get their way, no one on the “no fly” list be able to buy guns, whatever that percentage might be.

But as well intentioned as that law would be, it would still, in practice, be challenged by gun show loop holes that do no require background checks on people who buy guns at shows, and by gun shops that, well, are more concerned with their bottom line.

Mexicans? Yes. But Arizona Law Is Also After “Dutch People”

Posted by David Montalvo

Immigration Protest

When Arizona, run by a Republican governor, empowered state law enforcers with immigration enforcement responsibilities assigned to federal agents, it effectively sought to target a single ethnic group, Latinos. And it’s a move likely to result in anything but a just form of reform, while mobilizing Democratic lawmakers amid midterm elections.

“This new law will legalize profiling in the state of Arizona and only serve to create a racial divide,” stated Rep. Yvette Clarke. “[Immigration reform] must be resolved at the federal level.  Unfortunately, Arizona has become a great example as to how handling such an issue at the state level can be counterproductive for our nation.”

In other words, immigration reform is many, many things other than a single nationality affecting a single state – the core issue with Arizona’s law.

To illustrate this point, David Letterman earlier this week, said Arizona has responded to accusations of targeting Mexicans by sending a “crew out today of government agents looking for Dutch people.”

Clark echoes this point – sans the humor.

Immigration Protest“The truth of the matter is that this is not just a Hispanic issue, it is not just a border security issue, it is an American issue,” she said, pointing to the large number of first and second generation Americans in her district, much like the rest of the country.

Indeed, it’s an issue that affects the entire country, which is why Democrats in Congress will likely take a similar message to their constituents this fall, as they push for comprehensive immigration reform – and possibly boost their votes among minority groups.

In fact, Clarke’s press release stated that she is not alone – that she and her colleagues are “calling for comprehensive immigration reform legislation to come to the House floor.”

On the Senate side, Republican Senator John McCain supports his state’s new immigration law – providing a glimpse of the kind of comprehensive immigration reform battle to come.

And showcasing Republicans, once again, as being the Party of No.

Letterman, however, thinks McCain is being hypocritical, considering McCain is “also an immigrant.”

After all, Letterman said, “he came over on the Mayflower.”

From Relief to Rebuild, Haiti Is a "Family Affair"

Posted by David Montalvo

IMG_3067

After three months of delivering water, shelter and health services in Haiti, the federal government agency in charge of international development is planning its next phase of relief efforts: rebuilding the country’s economy.

“And we rarely get to work with the members of Congress,” said Phil Gary, who works for USAID as chief of staff of the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance.

On this rare instance, he was referring to Rep. Yvette Clarke.

Presenting in a second-floor, sterile-beige room of about 70 businesspeople at the Calvary Cathedral of Praise in Brooklyn, Gary outlined new relief efforts to break down camps and build up commerce in Haiti.

“Haiti needs more than relief economy, it needs a rebuilding economy,” Clarke said.

IMG_3065The USAID meeting Saturday, hosted by Clarke, was a “How To” briefing for businesses interested in helping rebuild Haiti – an agenda that seems to increasingly define the politics of a fledgling congresswoman.

“I have a real bias,” Clark said, adding a little hip action and humor to her speech. “I love the Caribbean. I can’t help it. It’s in my blood.”

She said her Jamaican heritage and her large Haitian constituency make this relief effort “a family affair.”

“I’m focused on the 11th Congressional District, but I’m very mindful of the Haitian community,” Clarke added.

Her successor in city council, Mathieu Eugene, who, according to his website, is the first Haitian-born official elected to New York City Council, turned to Clarke at the meeting and said: “We in the Haitian community are lucky to have you.”

IMG_3072Indeed, they might very well be.

In February, Clarke introduced the Haitian Emergency Life Protection Bill, which would allow Haitians with already approved immigration petitions to come to the U.S. She then visited the devastated country early March, followed by her introduction of the Haitian Private Sector Encouragement Act, which would spur investment in small and medium-sized businesses owned by Haitian citizens.

(Republican Sen. Richard Lugar and Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy introduced a similar encouragement act in the Senate earlier this month.)

And now Clarke has brought contract work opportunities with USAID into her district.

IMG_3051“We mean business here,” she punctuated.

At this rate, she’ll soon be sharing a national stage with, say, Bill Clinton and his Global Initiative on efforts to help Haiti.

She just has to make sure there is no shady contracting activities or other dubious transactions that will call into question her leadership to rebuild a country known for its poverty and corruption.

For Undercounted Communities, A Census Cheetah – Politically and Fashionably!

Posted by David Montalvo

IMG_3046

She is not a politician of pantsuits or tweed skirts.

Those are for lions, already all-powerful to many and who travel in large packs, like Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State and Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House.

But it’s not for a second-term congresswoman.

Instead, from behind a cherry blossom in Brooklyn’s concrete jungle, a swifter, more energetic, and just as fiercely competitive cat appears – the cheetah.

Donning an animal-print trench coat, sharp Christian Dior eyewear and blood red lipstick, Rep. Yvette Clarke made two points Saturday:

  1. Not only does she have style, it’s edgy and frankly it works for her!
  2. And, invoking her inner cheetah, she is on the hunt for constituents slow to return their census forms.

“I believe democracy is not a spectator sport,” told Clarke to a crowd outside a post office in Crown Heights, encouraging them to fill out and mail 2010 Census forms.

IMG_3021Most, if not all, present were Caribbean and African Americans, though Clarke said the post office at Nostrand Avenue and Empire Boulevard was an important location for this initiative.

“This is the nexus where lots of immigrants come,” she told The NYC Delegation. “It’s a hard-to-count district.”

Though national outreach efforts seem to focus on Spanish-speaking communities, they are a small group in this district.

But, said Clarke, there is a high “concentration of African Americans,” another low turnout group.

Indeed, nationally almost 70% of census forms have been returned, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, compared with 51% for all of Brooklyn. Here in Crown Heights and East Flatbush, which have some of the highest black and Caribbean populations in this district, have the lowest return rate so far – as low as 34%.

But across Prospect Park in Park Slope and Cobble Hill, where there’s a larger white population, there’s a much higher return rate for Clarke’s district and for Brooklyn – a percentage closer to the national average.

Clarke said even this number is low for white Americans in her district, though she doesn’t attribute it to antigovernment sentiment, as one report recently indicated.

“This is one exercise that is immune to antigovernment,” she said.

In fact, Census workers said they see feelings of fear toward the government, not feelings against it.

Yvette Mendes, a census outreach worker at Clarke’s event, said Crown Heights and East Flatbush have a “high immigrant community,” so she believed this was a logical location for such an event.

Mendes said such communities might worry about their immigration status and possible deportation, so they don’t participate in the census, even though “they’re secure, they’re confidential,” she said.

Projecting through a megaphone, Clarke told the crowd of about 30-or-so people that by not being counted, they are turning money away for the community, like schools and hospitals, and they are telling Washington: “We don’t need your assistance. Send that check somewhere else.”

IMG_3024She told The NYC Delegation that being accounted for in the census is like an ATM transaction: If we don’t deposit population numbers, we can’t withdraw the federal funds we need.

And, seeing as this is her first national census as a member of the House of Representatives, this leopard-clad congresswoman appears ready to fight for those funds for her district.

“I’m a competitive congresswoman,” she added.

Obesity is the New HIV

Posted by David Montalvo

Fighting ObesityJamie Oliver is doing it. Michelle Obama is doing it. And now Yvette Clarke is doing it.

They are fighting against America’s staggering childhood obesity rate.

It’s the latest priority on Clarke’s appropriations request for next year, and it is one that rivals her usual priorities to Jewish and Caribbean communities.

But the good news comes with mixed feelings. One group that didn’t make the list after receiving strong support last year is at-risk gay and lesbian youth.

In her previous request for appropriations that would be used for spending this year, Rep. Yvette Clarke sought $2 million for a project by the Gay Men’s Health Crisis to launch an HIV prevention campaign for at-risk youth.

The project “is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because over 850 clients in the 11th Congressional District will have access to services,” said Clarke in her request.

Indeed, the issue was so pressing that the money she requested for the program was the highest in its category (Commerce, Justice, and Science), and for any individual request made in the Energy and Water, Financial, and Homeland Security categories.

Of the 30 individual requests for 2010, the HIV prevention campaign ranked number seven fiscally – behind a cyber security infrastructure project and funding for the NYPD.

But in her 2011 fiscal year appropriations request, the at-risk gay and lesbian youth were missing – even as other projects, particularly those serving Jewish and Caribbean communities, both large populations in NY-11, stayed put.

What appears to have replaced youth at risk for HIV are those at risk for obesity.

Girls Incorporated ($500,000), GrowNYC ($230,000), St. John’s Bread and Life Program ($300,000), the City Parks Foundation ($150,000), and the Sports and Arts in School Foundation ($300,000) are all called obesity-fighting programs in Clarke’s appropriations request – and they’re all new to this year’s list.

According to Clarke, each program is “a valuable use of taxpayer funds” because:

  • Girls Incorporated will help “meet the goals of the new national childhood obesity initiative;”
  • GrowNYC will create “jobs for teens” and “reduce the health costs associated with diabetes, obesity and heart disease;”
  • St. John’s program “addresses the obesity epidemic;”
  • City Parks Foundation will serve “communities plagued by high rates of obesity;”
  • Sports and Arts will focus on the “high rates of childhood obesity” because it’s one of the “greatest threats to young people.”

Obesity can be life-threatening and addressing it is important. But so is HIV.

While it is uncertain whether Gay Men’s Health Crisis or other HIV prevention programs requested funds for 2011, one thing is clear: Clarke understands the ongoing need for funding of those campaigns.

Such programs, she said last year, “provide life saving services crucial in the fight to reverse the alarming rate of infection among youth in New York City.”

According to the New York City Department of Health, more than 100,000 New Yorkers are living with HIV and thousands don’t know they’re infected, making New York City the epicenter of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the U.S.

And though $2 million was requested for Gay Men’s Health Crisis, it ultimately received a smaller amount, $1.5 million, according to an appropriations-received report.

The fight against the “alarming rate” of HIV, therefore, is far from over – but one wouldn’t know that from Clarke’s latest appropriations request.

On Trinity, A Learning Curve for Clarke

Posted by David Montalvo

Think of it as a mini bridge to nowhere.

The Gravina Island Bridge, now notoriously known as the “Bridge to Nowhere” and was supported by then-Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to connect a handful of people on Gavina Island with mainland Alaska – even though a perfectly healthy ferry system existed (or, at least, could have likely been upgraded for a less).

Still, like virtually all earmarks – and pork – requested by House representatives, the bridge was touted to be “a valuable use of taxpayer funds.”

It is under this tout that has gotten much-needed funding for worthy causes, as well as less worthy ones – even dubious ones with questionable existence, like the Trinity Community Development and Empowerment Group that has put at least three New York City congressmen and women in hot water.

The issue grew out of Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-Brooklyn) sponsoring $500,000 to a group that employs one of his staffers, raising concerns of a conflict of interest. But that issue was magnified with the involvement of Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-Brooklyn), who, with Towns, wanted Rep. Gregory Meeks, (D-Queens) to sponsor more than $4 million in taxpayer funds to Trinity.

According to its unsophisticated-looking Web site, Trinity presents itself to be a helper of the poor, the under-skilled, and under-represented communities – and, really, who isn’t supportive of that?

Towns and Clarke, both members of the Congressional Black Caucus, often co-sponsor each other’s bills. The same is true between Clarke and Meeks. So it’s not surprising that, if called upon by Towns for help, Clarke undoubtedly agrees – though, perhaps, too blindly.

“I really had no knowledge of any submission for this organization,” said Clarke, reported the New York Daily News.

To make matters worse, the Daily News reported that the office building for Trinity sat “empty,” boarded up and without electricity. An empty building seems as useful to taxpayers as a bridge to…?

Clarke, who is just in her second term serving in the House, no doubt made a misstep in her young tenure as a congresswoman. But in this heated political climate –  as isolated angry voters turn to violence and several New York politicians take beatings on ethical issues – missteps are less forgivable.

Clarke has since withdrawn her support of allocating taxpayer money for Trinity, as have the other two congressmen.

Towns and Meeks, who are more experienced politicians, weren’t looking out for their younger colleague, it seems.

Towns appears to have used Clarke to get Meeks involved on his “bridge to nowhere,” then, amid the specter of ethics violation, the two seasoned politicians abandon ship and left Clarke behind to sink or swim.

Health Care Reform Passes: "Lunch Ladies" Defeated

Posted by David Montalvo

219 House Democrats passed a landmark health care reform bill late Sunday evening – as Jamie Oliver travelled to the most obese city in America to promote healthier eating habits on his new show “Food Revolution” on ABC – that is meant to benefit tens of thousands of uninsured residents in New York Congressional District 11 in Brooklyn.

The interactive graph above shows how the bill will affect the district, by the numbers.

“This bill gives Americans more choices and brings down health care costs for everyone,” said Rep. Yvette Clarke, who voted for the bill.

Indeed, the bill may also benefit 367,000 of her constituents with health insurance through improvements in their coverage, and more than 11,000 small business in her district are targeted to receive tax credits to afford health insurance, she said.

(Read my previous post for an analysis of why Rep. Clarke voted for health care reform.)

The timing for Food Revolution’s preview perhaps couldn’t have been more impeccable.

Jamie Oliver, the British chef who helped transform the public lunch program in the U.K. through the show’s British version, was faced in West Virginia by a tough, punchy “lunch lady” who refused to change from her ways of serving frozen pizza, processed foods and just-add-water mashed potatoes.

The idea of preparing and serving fresh food everyday to kids seemed not only impossible to her, but perhaps worse, she didn’t think the kids would like it – so why even try to feed them better, more nutritious food?

Change is never easy. The year-long kicking and scratching between Democrats and Republicans over health care reform is evident of that, if nothing else. But President Obama and Congress, like Jamie Oliver, have decided to take on the Republican “lunch ladies” in the interest of a better, healthier America.

The reconciled health care reform bill, which includes the backing of Pro-Life Caucus Democrats, still needs approval by a simple majority in the Senate before landing on President Obama’s desk.

“Tonight after nearly 100 years of talk and frustration,” said Obama around 12:42 a.m. on Monday, “we proved that this government of the people and by the people is still for the people.”

Though no House lunch ladies voted for the bill – including all Republicans and some Democrats – it’s still unclear if they’ll become fans of “Food Revolution.”

Velazquez's Instrumental Role in Cleaning the Gowanus Canal

Posted by Dana Rapoport

After a major snowmelt, like the one we had this week, there’s toilet paper floating, condoms and raw sewage on the Gowanus Canal. And it smells even worse than usual.

Despite the water overflow, residents of South Brooklyn were relieved this week. On Tuesday, the Environmental Protection Agency named the Gowanus Canal a federal Superfund site, making it a national priority.

With the government allocating half a billion dollars for the clean-up program, the canal’s neighbors can finally breath freely. Or at least they will be able to in the future, as the remediation work will not start until 2014.

Still, this was good news for Brooklynites of Carroll Gardens, Red Hook and Sunset Park, who have been advocating for over a decade to clean the Gowanus.

Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, whose Congressional district includes the polluted waterway, was among the few politicians who supported the move.

“The EPA has the proven expertise to oversee a comprehensive clean-up, while holding accountable those responsible for the pollution,”

Velazquez wrote this week.

The EPA’s win, means Mayor Bloomberg’s plan is out. Supporters of the city’s plan are saying it offers a cheaper and faster way to get rid of the toxic brew. It would also hurt less for the Real Estate around the canal, but choosing experience over efficiency wasn’t what stirred the controversy.

The government plans to make polluters around the canal pay for the cleaning.

The EPA already named responsible parties, such as National Grid – expected to pay the biggest share – Con Ed, the U.S. Navy and New York City.
“Now, they’re eying 20 other companies, including Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Kraft and Citigroup,” The Daily News reported.

According to Katia Kelly, a blogger and a community activist, Velazquez was at the forefront of the controversial issue.

“Most of our politicians were sitting on the fence about it, but Nydia, very quickly organized a meeting to talk to the people, to explain what the EPA plan is, what the consequences are,“ Kelly said in a phone interview.

“She was the very first politician to look into the city’s plan, and after talking to the Mayor, she said the money wasn’t there, and she went right out and said it – she urges the Superfund.“

Not Super fun for everyone

Kelly also said, that the Superfund was a ‘make or break’ elections issue for the gentrifying heart of Brooklyn. “The community will not forget those politicians that were silent about this.”

One of those silent politicians was Congresswoman Yvette Clark.

Clark attended a public meeting in January and told residents that she had talked to the EPA in Washington, but refused to make a statement.

[Possibly, because of her close ties with Bill Deblasio and (Carroll Gardens developer) Buddy Scotto were supporters of the city’s DEP plan.]

Brooklyn residents are not the only ones who won a cleaner future, as Velazquez scored some important political points with a good sense of smell, she spotted the source of the stench.

Huck on the Gowanus from ckelly on Vimeo.

Please watch this cute “short animated history of the Gowanus Canal in reverse and back again.” Thanks to the “Pardon me for asking” blog.

Clarke Unexpectedly Breaks from Party Line on Jobs Bill – Votes 'NO'

Posted by David Montalvo

boy-pulling-girls-hair

The message is as clear as the one little boys send to little girls they love – they pull on their pigtails and make them cry.

Yvette Clarke, who sits on the House Small Business Committee, voted Thursday against a $15 billion jobs measure, a bill that gives tax breaks to businesses that hire from the deep pool of unemployed workers.

Though the bill passed with a handful of Democrats voting against it – they said the measure stopped short of spurring job creation and focused too much on business – Clarke’s decision to vote against it was rather unexpected.

The obvious reason would be that anyone who sits on a small business committee would see a measure that supports businesses with tax breaks and credits as favorable.

Indeed, one California Democrat who voted against the measure insisted that “we should stop calling it a jobs bill, and instead acknowledge this is about business tax cuts,” reported The New York Times.

But a more ponytail-tugging message is that, as recently as Wednesday, Clarke testified before the House Budget Committee to get money into the hands of small businesses.

She told the committee that the economic recession “has hit these businesses especially hard, forcing many to shed jobs or scale back operations. The credit crisis has made it more difficult for all small businesses to secure financing; limiting growth opportunities and jeopardizing short term business stability.”

Her message was clear then (small busineses need money now), but her vote Thursday on the jobs bill muddied it up (businesses need money, but not this way).

In her Brooklyn district, Clarke has one of the highest unemployment rates in New York City and New York state, of at least 11 percent in January (New York state averaged was 9.4 percent), according to the New York State Department of Labor. And she consistently peddles out messages about supporting the vast small businesses in her district.

Still, along with a House Democrat in Brooklyn that neighbors her district, she voted the jobs bill down – even as all other New York City representatives voted for the measure (except for Joseph Crowley, a Bronx Democrat who has similar unemployment levels as Clarke but did not vote on the bill).

Clarke has not (yet) explained her reasoning for pulling the pigtails on a jobs bill that would seem to benefit her district.

UPDATED: MARCH 6, 2010

Unlike many of her colleagues in the House, Clarke seems unworried about voting against a jobs bill in an election year at a time when Democrats are trying to show flustered Americans that Congress can get things done. If in her gut she feels the jobs bill is not actually a jobs-creating bill, she can afford to do the “right thing” and vote against it.

And that’s exactly what she did – though through the gut of the Congressional Black Caucus as the caucus whip.

All but one of the caucus’ officers voted against the bill (Rep. G. K. Butterfield of North Carolina, the caucus secretary, voted for the bill’s adoption) – the caucus’s official position.

“While tax cuts for some businesses may be needed, our priority must be to pass legislation that directly creates jobs. The Congressional Black Caucus is committed to finding a path forward that meets the dire needs of unemployed Americans, especially the chronically unemployed,” said the caucus’ chairwoman, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA).

Therefore, as the whip, Clarke had to make sure CBC members voted according to its position – including her own vote. While she stayed true to CBC, a majority of its members clearly did not.

At least on this jobs bill, for Clarke, CBC trumps DNC. But what remains unclear is which one trumps her district and when does her district trump either CBC or DNC, or both.