I got a hold of the talking points given to members of Congress and staff of the Congressional Black Caucus regarding the Feb. 14 story that appeared in the New York Times. The piece was written by Eric Lipton and outlines the spending habits of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. CBC Chair Barbara Lee wrote Arthur Sulzberger asking for apology in an incredibly ineffective letter dated Feb 15.
The reason I post these talking points is that they are waaaay better than the letter the CBC officially sent to the NYT as their official response. Instead they should have sent these talking points.
This section of the points outlines where the money the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation goes. A full set of the talking points can be found on my blog on the CBC, CREW OF 42.
PART FOUR. This part four tells me that, once again, staff is frequently faster on draw than the elected officials and appointees they work for. Clearly a smart staff member wrote these talking points and a committee of members of Congress wrote the response letter to Sulzberger. Letters by committee are always weak. A straight forward on point response by one person results in clear and direct communication. Why these talking points aren’t e-mailed to every media organization in the country (answer: someone at the top wants them to be a national security secret) I have no clue.
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Where the Money actually goes...
The NYT article does not focus on the impact of CBCF’s work such as the impact that CBCF has had in developing civic leaders for four decades and its contribution in educating the community about developing healthy lifestyles and habits to improved quality of life and longevity. Through its free health screenings, CBCF’s Black Health Empowerment Project has not only alerted, but served as a conduit for emergency response for local residents about their health conditions, such as hypertension and other critical conditions.
To help African Americans better understand the significance of the stimulus package, CBCF developed a resource guide to give African Americans a clear vision of the specific impact in their communities, and link residents with the organizations and agencies in their communities that can help them access relevant resources that promote community and economic development. This guide has been distributed by other organizations to their constituencies and has been downloaded by many from our website.
The Foundation’s income has increased significantly since 2001, and its programs have accordingly expanded in that same time frame. For example, CBCF expanded its internship program, by providing year-round paid internships that include housing for the interns as well as supplementary experiences such as forums and field trips. Each semester CBCF sponsors from 10-18 interns and 45 interns participated in the Summer 2009 Congressional internship.
••• In 2005, we expanded our program offering to include the Black Health Empowerment Program through which CBCF is reaching thousands of individuals at the community level to provide free health screenings, free health advice, instruction on exercise and other physical activities, nutrition information and tips on cooking healthy meals. We touch over one thousand students each year at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and at community colleges to help them become more financially literate.
••• The CBCF is proud of its Home Ownership and Financial Literacy workshops, and its program, originally known as SHOP (Student Home Ownership Program), SHOP for Wealth offers seminars at various colleges and universities to educate people about the importance of fiscal responsibility.
••• Currently, it costs CBCF approximately $10,000 per intern, and approximately $650,000 was spent on the program in 2008. The amount reflected on the 990 does not include all the program costs such as staff salaries, accounting costs, special activities, recruitment and application processing expenses.
••• CBCF has expanded its Fellows program from a one-year to a two-year optional program. The Fellows are full time employees of CBCF who are assigned to work on the Hill.
The Fellows are assigned to work in Congressional offices and on Congressional Committees. Fellows receive salaries and benefits, including health insurance coverage which is included in our personnel expenses.