Dear Zamounde:
Thank you for contacting me regarding economic development in East St. Louis. You raise some important concerns.
I agree with you that our government needs to devote more time and resources to help communities struggling with unemployment, sprawl, blight, and other ills associated with lagging economic development. I also take sincere note of your point about the effects of underdevelopment on my friends in East St. Louis and the Metro East area.
I am a strong supporter of federal efforts to improve the lives of my hard working constituents in the Metro East, including the many good folks I've met in East St. Louis. I have encouraged the federal Economic Development Administration (EDA) to focus more of its efforts on blighted and underdeveloped communities, and I am a strong supporter of federal job training efforts that would help displaced individuals find new employment. Further, I've voted against legislation such as the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) that was slanted too far in favor of corporate interests but ignored the needs of many of my constituents, including families in East St. Louis. I also secured record levels of funding in last year's national transportation bill that will help individuals in Illinois find good-paying jobs in transportation-related industries.
I will continue with my efforts to fight for working families in the days ahead. As this process proceeds, I will certainly keep your concerns closely in mind. I believe our government has a responsibility to help individuals like you, who are looking to recapture the cities of their youth after a long career spent outside of Illinois. America is certainly a land of opportunity, but we still have much work to do to make sure that the full breadth of that opportunity extends to communities like East St. Louis.
Again, Zamounde, thank you for contacting me. I wish you the best on your coming retirement, and encourage you to contact me again in the future.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama
United States Senator
P.S. Our system does not allow direct response to this email. However, if you would like to contact me again, please use the form on the website: http://obama.senate.gov/contact/
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3 comments:
nice. i now have even more respect for him. and i'm amazed/glad people actually write their senators.
WOW!!! This is great, Z.
kudos to you Obama. what you said in Nirobi uni was true and shame on our Kenyan leaders for not wanting to accept reality.
I am a Kenyan and was very happy for telling it without beating about in the bush.
Obama yu are the bestest.
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