A Call for Action from this Nation

Floor Speech

A CALL FOR ACTION FROM THIS NATION -- (House of Representatives - February 25, 2009)

Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, last night President Obama issued a call for action from this Nation. He clearly laid out the economic situation that we are in right now, but, more importantly, he laid out a plan for growth, a plan that started a week ago with the passage of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

What it did was it staunched the bleeding of jobs that we were losing at a rate of 600,000 in January, but it made a much more important investment in the future. President Obama laid out his priorities for the next budget, an investment in education, an investment in energy security and an investment in reining in the cost of health care.

I represent the southern Minnesota district that includes the Mayo Clinic. I also represent a district that is a leader in wind production and biofuels, not just nationwide but internationally.

I also had a guest last night, Chuck Ehler, the superintendent of a small school, Rushford-Peterson, in my district. That community was devastated by flooding that had a Federal disaster in 2007. It's a 103-year-old building.

The people and the citizens who will fuel our economic recovery are those citizens trying to learn in a building that will not work. We must invest in the future. That's how we repair our economy.

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