Dear Friend:

Thank you for reading another edition of my e-newsletter, the Carson Courier. For additional information on these and other topics, please visit my website at http://www.carson.house.gov.

In this week's Carson Courier:

Promoting Job-Creating Community Development Programs
Indiana Immigration Reform

Promoting Job-Creating Community Development Programs

Indianapolis and the 7th District have been able to make great strides to combat home foreclosures and restore once-dilapidated neighborhoods. But all of this progress would not be possible without access to federal programs like the Neighborhood Stabilization Program and HOPE VI/Choice Neighborhoods.

Unfortunately, Republicans are seeking to cut or eliminate these vital community development programs. This week, I joined my Democratic colleagues in the House Financial Services Committee to protect programs like these that create much-needed jobs and help Americans across the nation rebuild their communities. With the jobless rate in America still far too high, these development programs are exactly what we should be initiating, not destroying, to continue to put more Hoosiers back to work.

Indiana Immigration Reform

A Republican proposal before the Indiana General Assembly is aiming to institute an immigration policy similar to the measure passed in Arizona. While there is no doubt that immigration reform is an issue that must be addressed, the legislation proposed will not resolve this important issue. In a time when creating and keeping jobs in Indiana should be a top priority, the proposed immigration bill would hurt our local businesses and negatively impact job creation. Instead of sending a welcoming message that Indiana is the place to conduct business, state officials would rather close the door to investments that will create much needed jobs.

To combat this proposal, I stood with the Alliance for Immigration Reform in Indiana as they introduced the Indiana Compact, which seeks to guide the debate on immigration reform in Indiana and advocates for the issue to be handled at the federal, not state, level.Our immigration policy should not be subject to a confusing patchwork of state and federal laws. I applaud the Alliance for Immigration Reform for organizing the Indiana Compact, and for calling upon Congress to address immigration at the national level. It is time for Congress to take action on immigration reform.

To read more immigration, please click here.

Sincerely,

André Carson
Member of Congress