FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications,
415-554-6131
*** PRESS RELEASE ***
MAYOR NEWSOM & SAN
FRANCISCO BUSINESS LEADERS ANNOUNCE RENEWED NATIONAL EFFORT
TO EXTEND FEDERAL STIMULUS FUNDING FOR JOBSNOW! PROGRAM
Coalition of Businesses & Mayors to Push for Extension of
Successful Federal Stimulus Funding as New National Report
Shows More than 250,000 Americans in 37 States Have Work
Through Jobs Programs
San Francisco, CA— Mayor Gavin Newsom today joined
local business leaders, employers and workers to announce a
renewed national effort to extend the federal stimulus
program that funds San Francisco’s successful JOBSNOW!
program and similar programs that employ more than 250,000
Americans in 37 states, according to a new report also
released today. The federal stimulus-funded Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families Emergency Contingency Fund (TANF/ECF),
set to expire on September 30, 2010 unless reauthorized by
Congress, has helped put more than 3,800 San Franciscans
back to work in private, nonprofit and public sector jobs
through more than 800 companies and organizations. Mayor
Newsom announced a new effort by mayors, local elected
officials and employers in San Francisco and other states to
urge Congress to extend the program so cities, counties and
local employers can continue putting people back to work.
The effort comes as a new report released today by the
Center for Budget & Policy Priorities highlights the success
of the TANF/ECF stimulus program at creating more than a
quarter million jobs in 37 states.
“From California to Washington, DC, there is no government
priority more important than helping local communities and
employers create jobs and put people back to work,” said
Mayor Newsom. “The federal stimulus program that funds San
Francisco’s JOBSNOW! program has helped put more than 3,800
San Franciscans back to work and, amidst a lingering
recession and jobless recovery, we cannot afford to see it
lapse. Today we are launching a renewed national effort with
employers, mayors and local elected leaders across this
country to extend this successful federal jobs program and
keep more than a quarter million Americans working.”
The House of Representatives, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi,
has voted twice to extend the program for one year with an
additional appropriation of $2.5 billion, though the Senate
has so far failed to authorize an extension. California
Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer strongly support
an extension of the successful program.
Aided by Small Business California and the San Francisco
Chamber of Commerce, a national employer to employer
lobbying effort is now underway initiated by San Francisco’s
Robert Miller of Internet Archives, who is contacting
businesses in other states and circulating
a nationwide online petition to the U.S. Senate. Mayor
Newsom is leading a coalition of other Mayors and elected
officials from across the country – including Chicago Mayor
Daley, New York City Mayor Bloomberg, Providence Mayor
Cicilline, Louisville Mayor Abramson, St. Louis Mayor Slay,
Los Angeles County and many others – to deliver a unified
message to Congress when they return from recess next week
about the importance of extending the TANF/ECF program.
“Jobs Now Providence has done exactly what federal stimulus
funds should do – put people back to work. This program has
been instrumental in expanding quality employment
opportunities for hardworking men and women throughout our
city and state in the middle of a difficult economic
climate,” said Mayor David Cicilline of Providence, leading
the coalition with Mayor Newsom.
“With a full economic recovery still to come, JOBS NOW! is
exactly the type of program our small businesses need to
keep people working,” said Rob Black, Vice President of
Public Policy for the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.
A recent survey of private-sector JOBS NOW! employers found
that 82% were satisfied with participants’ job performance,
72% reported increased sales as a result of JOBS NOW! and
82% reported that their businesses run more efficiently due
to the program.
“Due to economic conditions, small businesses have made cuts
in their companies putting extreme pressure on employees
remaining. The hiring of an additional employee reduces
that pressure and improves morale for the company overall,”
said Scott Hauge, President of Small Business of California
and owner of CAL Insurance & Associates Inc.
“We would have stopped growing without the JOBS NOW!
program. With the grim economic outlook, we would have done
what most businesses must do to conserve cash—stop hiring or
reduce headcounts,” said Tom Yeh, owner of Siteler Car Wash.
The success of the TANF/ECF program at putting people back
to work, not just in San Francisco but across the nation, is
underscored by a new report released today by the Center for
Budget & Policy Priorities titled
Walking Away from a Win-Win-Win: Subsidized Jobs Slated
to End Soon Are Helping Families, Businesses & Communities
Weather the Recession. According to the
report, the TANF/ECF has given states over $1 billion to
operate subsidized jobs programs that have proved successful
on multiple fronts. The fund has been a “win-win-win,”
helping unemployed families find work, businesses expand
capacity in a difficult economic environment, and local
economies cope with the recession. Without the fund, some
120,000 young people would not have had summer jobs and some
130,000 parents would not have had jobs to provide for their
families’ basic needs; they would also have lost a valuable
opportunity to build skills for the future.
Further, the report states, the subsidized jobs supported by
the TANF Emergency Fund have helped families get work and
income and have helped employers maintain and even expand in
tight times. That, in turn, has given a needed boost to
communities trying to recover from the recession. Moreover,
families that are stable, housed, and employed are better
able to support the community — economically and otherwise —
and are less likely to require local social services.
“The current economic recovery is far too fragile to end
these programs now. Rather than walk away, Congress should
extend the TANF Emergency Fund for one more year so that
states can continue subsidized jobs placements in local
communities,” the report concludes.
The full report is available from Center for Budget & Policy
Priorities at
http://www.cbpp.org.
###
Francis Tsang
Chief Deputy Communications Director
Mayor's Office of Communications
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 291
San Francisco, CA 94102
415.554.6131 Main
415.554.6467 Direct
415.554.4058 Fax
francis.tsang@sfgov.org
