Black
Caucus Presses Obama on Priorities
By BEN EVANS
The Associated Press
 WASHINGTON
(AP) — President Barack Obama reassured members of the
Congressional Black Caucus that he's on their side and
will do what he can to support the group's left-leaning
agenda, lawmakers said Thursday after an hour-long
session at the White House.
Nearly all the group's 42 members attended. Noticeably
absent was Illinois Sen. Roland Burris, Obama's
replacement who is fending off calls to resign.
The lawmakers — all Democrats — said the reception was a
welcome change from the tenure of former President
George W. Bush, who held several cordial meetings with
black lawmakers but rarely agreed with them on
substance.
"There is no comparison," said Rep. Elijah Cummings of
Maryland. "(Obama) basically assured us that having been
a member of the Congressional Black Caucus ... that he
gets the issues and will do everything he can to work
with us."
Lawmakers said they presented Obama with a wish-list
covering a broad range of topics, many of them economic
issues affecting their districts.
They pressed Obama to focus on hiring more minorities to
federal jobs and helping small and minority-owned
businesses get government contracts. They also discussed
creating a health-care safety net and addressing medical
disparities among minorities.
Lawmakers expressed continued concerns about the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan, and proposed forming a national
task force for improving education in low-income
communities.
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas said the caucus made
its priorities clear but is "not unrealistic about what
a president can do."
Cummings said some of the proposals don't involve
additional money. For example, he said Obama talked
about using the bully pulpit to encourage minorities to
get more health screenings.
Although Obama was a member of the caucus during his
Senate tenure from 2004-2008, he has never had a
particularly close relationship with the group.
Accommodating its full agenda could cause problems for
the president's effort to build a moderate political
coalition.
But caucus members said it's their job to make sure he
remains focused on the hardships facing their districts,
many of which are poor urban areas with high
unemployment.
"Everybody's pulling together," said Rep. David Scott of
Georgia. "We've got a huge problem, a momentous crisis
here with this economy ... we're all on the same page."
Burris' spokesman said the senator did not attend the
White House meeting because he needed to vote on a bill
giving the District of Columbia a vote in the House.
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