[Harris:] Well, I don't have to tell you it is a tough job market tougher for teenagers and even worse for African-American teens. Now a program designed to create summer jobs is in jeopardy because of concerns about the deficit. The story now from Congressional Correspondent Brianna Keilar.
[Brianna Keilar, Cnn Congressional Correspondent:] Kyle Flora grew up in one of the roughest parts of Washington, D.C., in the shadow of the Capitol
[Kyle Flora, Dc Summer Jobs Participant:] As soon as I turned 12, I was able to work. Good hustle, you guys.
[Keilar:] coaching children in the city's Homerun Baseball Camp, a job he got through D.C.'s Youth Employment Program. Many teenagers in Kyle's neighborhood spent their summers much differently.
[Flora:] They would be getting in trouble. I know that.
[Keilar:] What kind of trouble?
[Flora:] I mean, in my neighborhood it would be the things you know, selling drugs. And it wouldn't be the right things, it wouldn't be things that I'm interested in.
[Keilar:] He says working kept him off the street. Unlike Kyle, a lot of inner city teenagers can't find a job. 23.2 percent of young white Americans are unemployed. But almost 40 percent of African-Americans of the same age are out of work.
[Eleanor Holmes Norton , D.c. Delegate:] Unemployment should not be a racial issue, but that's what it's become.
[Keilar:] Washington, D.C.'s congressional delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton, along with other members of the Congressional Black Caucus, fought to get a billion dollars for youth employment programs approved by the House of Representatives. But it's a cost that would add to the deficit and in the Senate a few fiscally conservative Democrats, along with Republicans, could strip out the funding.
[Sen. Scott Brown , Massachusetts:] Of course we want to help with summer jobs. But we also have to have tough choices and we also need to live within our means.
[Keilar:] What do you say to critics who say this is a good cause but shouldn't add to the deficit?
[Norton:] How are we going to reduce the deficit on the backs of unemployed people and unemployed youth at that? How much do we contribute to the deficit by getting a billion dollars out for youth unemployment?
[Flora:] If you're up, you're there. If you're not up you're in the grass.
[Keilar:] Across town, Kyle Flora is teaching kids to field a baseball, working his last summer job before heading to college. He's concerned these kids won't have the opportunities he's had and he certainly is not concerned about deficit spending.
[Flora:] This saves lives, I feel. It's that important. I mean, the money is needed. The money is going to a good cause.
[Keilar:] I've talked with Republican sources who say they agree, but you still have to pay for it, because, Tony, as you know, there are a lot of voters out there right now who just think that government spending is at too high of a level, and that midterm election is right around the corner.
[Harris:] You know, I think this a real push-pull here, Brianna. I'm curious as to when Congress will get to work on this, and what's likely to happen. And maybe a third one here, is the money there?
[Keilar:] Well, let's start at the beginning. When will Congress take this up? Of course, they're away right now. They come back next week. And this is on the to-do list. But here's the rub. This money, it isn't just money for summer jobs. It is on a big spending bill that funds the war in Afghanistan, as well as a number of domestic issue like this one, summer jobs. And what you have, especially now that the ball is in the Senate's court, you have a lot of Democrats, maybe a growing number of Democrats, who are against this war spending, and then you have all Republicans and some Democrats who want a clean bill for the war. They don't like all of these domestic tack-ons. And so you can see it's hard to get the votes there for the Democratic leaders in the Senate. So, the answer is they're supposed to get it done, I'm told, but they don't know exactly when.
[Harris:] Yes. OK. Our congressional correspondent, Brianna Keilar, for us. Brianna, good to see you. Thank you. One man has made it his life's work to change the way America gets its energy.
[Lonnie Johnson, Inventor:] When you come up with something that's really out of the ordinary, it takes a while to get people, even technical and scientific experts, to accept the idea.
[Harris:] Some say Lonnie Johnson's inventions could change the world, and people in government are starting to listen. Watch my "Next Big Thing" series, "Engineers: Life Mission," today at noon Eastern. While we're bringing you the news from around the world, we are also watching what's hot online. Ines Ferre surfing the Web for us. Ines, what are you following?
[Ines Ferre, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Tony, it's all about Lindsay Lohan online right now, and you're following as she goes to court again. She could face jail time if she is found guilty of violating her probation. And there you see the court, people waiting outside the court right there.
[Harris:] Oh yes. All right.
[Ferre:] You're watching
[Cnn Newsroom. Harris:] We'll be back in a moment.
[Ferre:] Yes.