Rep. James Lankford (R-OK) tells CNN’s Soledad O’Brien that Republicans are trying to solve the debt and deficit and “not trying to solve the fiscal cliff.”

Rep. Lankford says, “We’re not trying to solve the fiscal cliff. We’re trying to solve the debt and deficit. That’s the bigger issue. The President’s proposal was let’s raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans, which raises about $80 billion.

Nearly 6.5 million U.S. teens and young adults are neither in school nor in the workforce, veering toward chronic underemployment as adults and failing to gain the skills employers need in the 21st century, according to a new KIDS COUNT® report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Many of these young people, ranging from ages 16 to 24, face numerous obstacles, according to the report, Youth and Work: Restoring Teen and Young Adult Connections to Opportunity.

The recession has not affected all Americans equally. While overall unemployment hovers around 8 percent, the reality was much different depending on your racial and ethnic background. African-Americans had an unemployment rate of 14.1 percent, nearly double the rate of whites at 7.2 percent. Hispanics had the second highest unemployment rate at 10.2 percent. And Asians fared best, with 5.9 percent unemployment.