The Congressional Progressive Caucus
Floor Speech
THE CONGRESSIONAL PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS -- (House of Representatives - January 28, 2009)
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You're absolutely right.
First of all, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my distinguished colleague Congressman Keith Ellison for managing the time requested by the Progressive Caucus on the floor to speak about the economic recovery package.
You just pointed out, it's there in black and white, Zandi's estimates for the multiplier effect, the top three items that were requested by this caucus were in this recovery package.
When we talk about economic stimulus, we're talking about things that people need from our economy in order to stimulate it. People must meet the needs of their homes and families' ability to feed themselves. Hence the use of food stamps is something that is constantly churning in communities across this Nation.
Infrastructure repair, I remember the most demonstrative thing that I could see since I've been a Member of Congress was that bridge fall in Minnesota, a neglected infrastructure that, thank God, we didn't see much more harm done to the population of Minnesota. But life was lost, Commerce was disrupted. Infrastructure, the multiplier effect. Just think about all of those trucks that have got to move the goods and services across our Nation. Truck drivers are being employed. Let's talk about the folks who are going to do the bricks and mortar of it all. They're going to be able to meet their mortgage payments, do some savings, make sure that their kids can go get a great education, be responsible for their families and their communities. That's what it's all about.
So I want to commend our leadership in the Progressive Caucus, Ms. Woolsey and Mr. Grijalva, for having the vision to reach out to the administration, to make sure that they're aware that there are some easy matter-of-fact things we could do within this package that will make the difference almost instantaneously in communities across this Nation. And those three items that were discussed are the items that make the difference each and every day in every community in which we live.
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You know, as we are all just too keenly aware, the current economic environment that we are in the midst of was a gift left to us by the Bush administration. And I really want Americans to focus on the fact that we have had 8 years of neglect, destruction, of total malfeasance when it comes to the economy of this Nation.
And we have just begun today, less than an hour ago, just minutes ago, to, you know, sort of begin to address in a very substantive way the impact of a mismanaged economy and, by extension, a mismanaged nation. We are excited about what is taking place, the level of enthusiasm that our Progressive Caucus had for this particular piece of legislation, H.R. 1, the Democratic Caucus has had, that the American people have had. And we are supporting our newly elected President, our newly installed, sworn-in President and his vision for taking us out of what is a very dramatic downturn in our economy, and it's going to take some time.
We are at the advent of that, and, I mean, I think for each of us who is here tonight, there are many more things that we know will have to be done. We are at a good place, at a good starting point, for our communities and the turnaround of these economies, the investments we are making. Because these are truly investments, these are not just giveaways; we inherited a World War II infrastructure, if you will. If it weren't for those folks who, you know, sacrificed during the World War II generation, you know, the subway systems we enjoy today, the mass transit, the technology, all of that was invested during that period of time, and use of the benefit of mobility and economy and took us to this point. We kind of coasted off of that generation's innovations.
It's our generation's time to step up. Barack Obama has led the way by being on the Hill, working in a bipartisan manner and making it unequivocally clear to the American people that it's our time now. And H.R. 1 speaks to its being our time now.
And I am just really proud to be here at this moment to have the Progressive Caucus in lockstep recognizing that we are not going to get everything we want, but if you don't put it out there, you are not going to get anything of what you want. So you put out there everything that you think is needed to make your community strong, solvent again, to help small businesses, which are really the major employers in many of our communities.
And it's all in here, the benefits and tax cuts and tax deductions for small business are phenomenal. They will be the ones that, when the contracts are broken down, we need those nails and those hammers, they will be the ones who can provide those, who can supply those. When their workers need to move goods from one place to another, the small businesses and our employers in our local communities will benefit from the work that we just did moments ago.
So I want to thank you for that, Progressive Caucus members.
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You know, I would like to ask about this progressive agenda. You know, we also have to be forward thinking; we can't just settle with this opening salvo in what will be a protracted struggle to realign our economy in this Nation, and our voices are going to be imperative because so many have been left out of the economy that was driven by deregulation, that was driven by greed, that was driven by policies that excluded such a significant part of our human resource in this Nation.
You know, patience is really going to be a virtue for a lot of us, and it's in short supply, unfortunately, because people are experiencing real pain in this current economy. But patience is going to be what's required as we recraft, reshape, recalibrate the economy in which we operate, and we now know that our economy is not just an American economy, but is an essential component of a global economy.
And as we make America stronger, there are going to be global implications in what we do and what happens with regards to the whole realignment of our market system.
I want to make sure that there's always going to be a voice coming from our caucus that talks about human resource development. Human resource development. More productive Americans are in their skill and talent and ability, the stronger our Nation will be.
So I would like to see us in the future, in the very near future, really look at how Community Development Block Grants can be utilized for rural and urban and suburban development. I know that it has been very successful in programs like the empowerment and enterprise zones of rural and urban communities. I think there may be a time within very short order where something similar will have to be engaged in order to make sure that we capture all of the human resource productivity that we can.
Our productivity quotient has to really rise as a result of us stimulating our economy. And as we stimulate our economy and our companies begin to buzz again, as it begins to grow, we need to make sure that all of our talent, skill, and ability is applied, all shoulders to the wheel to, as you say, making the rising tide lift all ships.
I yield back.
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When the American people called for change, Congressman Ellison, they were really calling for progress. We were stuck in a rut. The morale of your average, everyday citizen was being diminished with each and every hour that the Iraq war was raging, that the Dow Jones was dropping, that they were receiving letters about foreclosure at their doorsteps, as they were receiving pink slips from their former employers. I mean it was an all-time low.
The one area where people saw sort of like a glimmer of hope was in the change in administration, a new leadership that spoke to progress, that spoke to the need to turn the page and get things going again.
Today, our act on H.R. 1 was turning that page. It's the advent of something new, something progressive. As my colleague, Donna Edwards has said, it's sewing that thread together of innovation, of progress, of understanding the needs and the desires of the average, everyday American.
These are not the wealthy people who can afford the lobbyists. These are not the wealthy people who can jet off to another location and put their sorrows behind them. These are the folks who wake up every morning and wonder, Will I have enough dollars left in my pocket to make sure that my children eat this weekend?
So what we did today was we brought dignity back to those who were struggling and who have been left out of the equation of our common humanity for quite some time.
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I'm just thinking about what a pressure valve this piece of legislation is for so many States. We can probably count the number of States that are currently not in deficit and not cutting services on both hands. This Nation is really rocked by the devastation of an economic downturn, like your State, like the State of Maryland, the State of New York.
We were here just before our significant break before we came in for the new session to deal with the automobile industry. Prior to that, we did the TARP. The TARP for New York City and New York State was like saving and industry that was a free-fall in terms of being an economic engine not only for our city, not only for our State, but for our Nation.
So I can really relate to what so many of my colleagues from across this Nation, whether they are from the Midwest, the far West, the Atlantic region, the Southwest, have been experiencing when manufacturing has been leaving all these years, when so many other industries have faltered and we were not there responsibly addressing those unemployment issues.
This ripple effect has hit home for every single American. If you have not personally been touched by what is happening in this economy, you are not breathing on this earth right now. You either know someone who's been impacted or you are yourself have been impacted, whether it's your home being foreclosed on or it's that company that has left town and has not been replaced in any form or fashion.
All of these issues are at the premium right now in everyone's minds, everyone's hearts, and everyone's pockets.
And so H.R. 1 to the rescue. We are here, and we have opened the door with the advent of something new, something progressive, and we are supporting it 110 percent.
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I thank you very much.
I just want to close by thanking you, Congressman Ellison, for organizing this special order with members of the Progressive Caucus this evening.
I think we have pretty much driven home that we are at the advent in the passing of H.R. 1 of the remaking of America, as our President, Barack Obama, likes to state it; that the things that we need to do have just been putting in place fundamentals, sort of the railing on which our economy will roll out from in the next 18 months to the next 4 years.
There is a lot of work to be done, a lot of human resource development to take place, a lot of training, and a lot of stimulating of our economy. And I want to take my hat off to all of my colleagues who voted in favor today of supporting the Reinvestment Act that we passed today, the economic stimulus and Reinvestment Act. And I look forward to getting back to my district and working with the folks in the community to be able to make sure that they access and hold accountable this Congress for making sure that this measure works for them.
We all have to be engaged in this for it to work. If anyone is sitting back thinking that someone is going to come and hand something to them, I think that they missed the whole point of why we voted for change. The change is that we are going to stay engaged, that we are going to ask for accountability in government, that we are going to demand it, and that we are going to see it come to fruition in the same way that we saw a new President become elected and installed.
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