Missouri In Focus
Blog of Congressman Russ Carnahan
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| My office has received a number of calls from constituents concerning the earthquake which struck Haiti on Tuesday, January 12. As we continue to learn the devastating impact of Tuesday's earthquake it is important people know how they can try reaching those in the country in addition to outlining where and how people can help.
Those worried about friends or loved ones can call the State Department hotline at 1-888-407-4747 or email
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. Also, the US Embassy website in Port-Au-Prince has additional information: haiti.usembassy.gov/service/emergency-contact.html
For those wanting to help, the Center for International Disaster Information operated under a grant from the United States Agency for International Development's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance has established a dedicated page to coordinate Haiti support by calling 703-276-1914 or visting: cidi.org/incident/haiti-10a/. Also, USAID has a list of NGOs and instructions on how to help: usaid.gov.
U.S. citizens in Haiti are urged to contact the Embassy via email:
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to request assistance. U.S. citizens in Haiti may also call the Embassy's Consular Task Force at 509-2229-8942, 509-2229-8089, 509-2229-8322, or 509-2229-8672.
My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Haiti as they struggle to make it through these enormously trying times.
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| There's no denying that the economic woes facing our nation have been deep and challenging. Too many people are hurting, too many families are struggling to make ends meet, too many businesses are fighting to stay afloat.
But last week, we received a small piece of good news. The Department of Labor reported that only 11,000 jobs were lost in November, an encouraging number compared to 700,000 jobs lost last December. It was a heartening sign that the stimulus package passed earlier this year has had a positive impact. And certainly, without that legislation, things would be much worse.
But while these numbers are encouraging, we aren't out of the woods yet. Despite the recent positive economic indicators, there is historically a one-year-plus lag between the indicators and the creation of jobs. It's our job to shorten that lag time.
That's why we need to have a comprehensive approach to creating jobs. We need to make strategic investments in things that we know are strong job creators, like transportation, infrastructure, and small businesses. And we need to encourage innovation to help build the clean-energy and technology jobs of the future.
The bottom line is this: Recessions affect regions differently - not only how they come into a recession, but also how they come out.
That's why this Saturday, I will be hosting a Regional Jobs Summit in St. Louis, bringing together business and community leaders from across Missouri's 3rd Congressional District. We need to come together to examine our own situation and determine our economic strengths and weaknesses, so we can continue to advance a serious, realistic, and workable regional plan that will help the St. Louis region emerge from this recession stronger than before.
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On this Veterans’ Day, the debt we owe to those who have served on behalf of our country in the name of freedom and democracy around the world is immeasurable. We have asked our soldiers today for sacrifices never before asked of a generation. They must serve multiple tours of duty and leave their loved ones behind, not just once – but time and time again.
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Now is the perfect time to encourage investment in people's historic homes. As the housing and real estate industry continue to struggle and unemployment on the rise, we need to make smart investments in projects, like rehabbing historic homes, that are proven to put Americans back to work.
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Earlier this week as leaders in Congress debate health care reform I was fortunate to have another in a series of discussions with constituents back home. At the town hall people were invited to share their personal stories of how the current health care system is broken for them and their family, friends and employees. I thank all those who participated in this successful forum with their presence, ideas and concerns.
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| Each year Independence Day marks a time when communities all across our country can reflect upon our proud national heritage.
Hard work and sacrifice are at the center of what has made our nation great. During this Fourth of July holiday consider taking a moment to reflect on the brave men and women who have made our independence possible.
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You have probably noticed that my office recently re-launched my Congressional website. In an effort to stay in better touch with constituents I have begun using a number of social networking tools like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. If you are part of these communities please consider following my work at these sites:
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Today I introduced H. Res. 492 which supports the goals and ideals of High-Performance Buildings Week. This resolution will work to provide greater public awareness about the benefits of high-performance buildings and increase education about the impact of the built environment.
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On Memorial Day, Americans come together to remember those who have sacrificed their lives on behalf of our country in the name of freedom and democracy around the world. The debt owed to them is immeasurable.
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On June 12, the St. Louis area and our nation will transition to digital television when television broadcasters will begin airing exclusively digital signals – and analog television sets that are not connected to a converter box, cable, or satellite will stop working.
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With thousands of the country’s hardest working plant workers living in my district I remain greatly concerned about their future and the worry they face everyday. Many of the men and women at the Chrysler Fenton facility helped the company survive its darkest hours in the early 1980's and were essential to its continued growth throughout the 1990's and early 2000's until operations at their plant were scaled back. For their sake, and the future of America's automotive industry, Chrysler Corporation needs to realize the worth of its area employees and the value of their state-of-the-art workplace.
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It’s exciting to see both the White House and Congress committed to taking on the nation’s energy crisis – an issue that has been ignored for years.We are making the tough decisions necessary to move the country in a new direction, create green jobs and build a clean energy economy.
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The Making Work Pay tax credit, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is designed to help middle-class families get back on their feet and restore some fairness to the tax code. Families are now seeing at least a $65 dollar per month increase in their take home pay.
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