Third Way Supports Rep. Cedric Richmond’s Legislation to Help Low-Income Communities Attract Jobs & Growth

WASHINGTON—Too many communities are being left behind as a result of the widespread economic change happening around us. For families in those communities, the future looks bleak—those born poor have a 70% likelihood of being poor or near-poor as adults. We need a fundamental commitment to remake low-income areas with sustainable jobs and opportunities for families to prosper. That’s why Third Way is strongly supporting new legislation by Representative Cedric Richmond (D-LA), the Race to the Job Initiative Act of 2016, that creates an innovative competition to provide much needed capital to boost jobs in areas that need the most help.

“The government needs to devote significant funding to help people in poverty, but we can’t forget to help the places where they live,” said Gabe Horwitz, Vice President for the Economic Program at Third Way. “Representative Cedric Richmond has shown a real commitment to new, innovative solutions that would leverage capital to create new jobs and growth in areas across the country that need it most.”

The Race to the Job Initiative Act establishes a new program where low-income communities compete to be one of 50 areas eligible for community development grants. In partnership with Community Development Financial Institutions, which leverage up to $10 in private money for every $1 of federal funding, capital is made available for communities to establish or expand anchor institutions that create significant numbers of jobs, provide job training, make infrastructure improvements, and provide technical assistance.