Joseph Crowley

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.

Crowley Takes Advantage of Monserrate's Scandal

Posted by Matthew Robinson

When Hiram Monserrate was convicted of a misdemeanor in October, Joseph Crowley led the call to oust Monserrate from his state senate seat, according to this Queens Gazette article. Crowley got his wish. The state senate kicked Monserrate out of office earlier this month. On a side note, Monserrate is actually running in the March 16 special election – he even stole Obama’s “Yes We Can” slogan.

Crowley’s move is more than getting the “bad guy” out of office. Crowley and Monserrate have had their differences in the past. In 2007, Crowley, the chairman of the Queens Democratic Party, did not invite Monserrate and Jose Peralta to an event honoring Malcolm Smith, the temporary President of the New York State legislature.

Monserrate voiced his concerns:

“I would like to be part of the host committee, but I was never asked,” Monserrate told the New York Daily News. “But the important thing is not the invitation itself but what it reveals. They don’t want to have anything to do with me or Peralta.”

Such public criticism couldn’t have sat well with Crowley. Peralta wasn’t as vocal as Monserrate, choosing just to note that he and Monserrate have never been chosen to host any Queens Democrat events. His decision seems to have kept him in good favor – Crowley now backs him for Monserrate’s seat.

The Daily News article added:

“Some Queens Democrats said, off the record, that the Monserrate slight is a product of the inordinate amount of power “the old guard” still holds over the Queens Democratic organization.”

Also, Monserrate and Pedro Espada Jr. voted against the Democratic Party last summer. The vote brought the New York legislature to a standstill. It seems Monserrate has run up against the established power, while Peralta has gone along with the status quo in Queens, and it may be paying off.

Jay-Z to 'Spread Love' to Clarke

Posted by David Montalvo

From Brooklyn corners, burnin branches of sticky

Spread love, Biggie, Brooklyn, hippie

I pity, the fool with jewels like Mr. T

With long history in my borough, they borrow

With no intentions of returnin, tomorrow

Brooklyn, we go hard! We go hard!

In his latest album, international rap artist Jay-Z brought his old stomping ground on the world stage in his track “Brooklyn Go Hard.” But it’s the superstar’s U.S. tour that may impact Brooklyn in more ways than just adding the name to potentially millions of playlists – the tour may impact local politics.

Rep. Yvette Clark, Democrat of New York’s Congressional District 11 in Brooklyn, will get an early campaign boost – at least financially – next month at a fundraiser event tied with Jay-Z and his BP3 Concert in Washington, D.C.

Sure, Beyonce’s husband might be feeling love for Brooklyn (just see how closely he still identifies to the borough – lyrically), or maybe it’s love for the work the democratic congresswoman has done there. But there’s also a little politics going on worth noting. The concert, managed by Live Nation, a global live entertainment company whose roster includes Madonna and Kylie Minogue, is lobbying Congress on H.R. 848, a performance rights act, which Ms. Clarke has co-sponsored.

Several others of Ms. Clarke’s New York City congressional colleagues also co-sponsored the bill – among them Joseph Crowley, Carolyn Maloney, Jarrold Nadler and Anthony Weiner – though they are not getting the same treatment by Jay-Z (perhaps other Live Nation artists will fundraise for them).

But there are other representatives benefiting from Jay-Z’s March concert in Washington. Joining Ms. Clarke that evening are election campaigns for Sanford Bishop of Georgia, Andre Carson of Indiana. At this time, neither of them have co-sponsored the bill above.

A contact for Ms. Clarke reelection campaign could not be reached before this posting went live.

Tickets for the Jay-Z-Clarke concert will cost a pretty penny in this sluggish economy: $1500 for one ticket or, for an additional thousand dollars, the ticket buyer can get a second one – and won’t have to go alone.

Crowley Leads Way for Immigration Reform

Posted by Matthew Robinson

In a recent article by the National Journal, Joseph Crowley was named as one of five up-and-coming House Democrats. “They form a second tier of leaders-in-training who could be in line to take over when their top party chiefs either retire or are forced out,” according to the article.

The article also called Crowley the go-to person for immigration reform. Back in September, Crowley, along with 111 House Democrats, wrote a letter to President Obama asking to reform immigration. Obama gave a speech last year on June 25 asking for reform, but the issue hasn’t moved much since then.

The letter detailed elements of reform. Undocumented immigrants would register, go through background checks, pay taxes, study English in order to apply for legal status, and then eventually apply for citizenship. As chairman of the New Democrat Coalition – a pro-business, moderate group – Crowley proposes that taxing immigrants could be be way to generate revenue for the state and provide benefits for those contributing to the workforce.

More than 60 percent of Crowley’s district speaks a language other than English at home, and 40 percent of the population are foreign-born, according to the Almanac on American Politics. So, Crowley should have constituent support for immigration reform.

But his interest in immigration may also stem from a personal connection – his mother. She emigrated from Northern Ireland as a child, according to whorunsgov.com. Given that Crowley has sought leadership roles throughout his career, it seems likely he will run for a more prominent office in the future. So, he must think that reform should add political points in New York.

Crowley Keeps Focus on Community Concerns

Posted by Matthew Robinson

Back in August, when tea partiers went viral on cable news, Joseph Crowley, D –N.Y. 7, set up an interactive healthcare forum to help inform Americans about what was actually happening with reform. But six months later, and Democrats losing their super majority with the election of Scott Brown, Crowley is looking to just get something passed, according to the Bronx News Network.

“We might have to break up the bill a bit, to do it piecemeal,” he said. “I think we will get something through—it may not be everything we want at first, but it will be substantial.”

Crowley has cited the need for health care reform in his own district, particularly for Bronx small business owners, who he says can’t afford to buy health insurance for their employees.

Across the river, Jackson Heights, Queens is home to almost two-thirds of the 28,000 Bangladeshi residents in New York City, according to the 2000 census. Crowley is the founder and co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Bangladesh, which brings 31 Members of Congress together in support of the people of Bangladesh, according to his website.

Crowley asked Bangladesh authorities on Jan. 27 to investigate the punishment of a 16-year-old rape survivor. The Daily Star, Bangladesh’s largest circulating English-language newspaper, reported that the teenage girl was raped and then punished with 101 lashes.

“I urge the Bangladeshi authorities to begin an impartial investigation into this matter and move to bring any perpetrators to justice immediately.”  Crowley said in a press release.

The press release added:

“Additionally, the London-based Guardian newspaper reported that “elders in the village issued a fatwa insisting that the girl be kept in isolation until her family agreed to corporal punishment.”  While Bangladeshi law is largely secular and does not tolerate rape, local elders often issue sentences and settle disputes, as it appears in this case.  Bangladesh is a moderate, predominantly Muslim country which has taken several strong steps to ensure women’s rights, including the provision of seats for women in the national parliament.”

Since taking office in 1999, Crowley has easily won reelection with an increasingly higher percentage of votes by keeping up on issues that matter to his constituents. He’s hoping these initiatives will keep it that way.