Democrats Offer a Different Vision

DEMOCRATS OFFER A DIFFERENT VISION -- (House of Representatives - September 22, 2004)

(Ms. SCHAKOWSKY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, perhaps the greatest disservice that the Bush administration and the Republican leadership have inflicted upon the American people is the lowering of expectations of what this great country of ours can be.

As the undisputed superpower of the world and the richest nation in the history of the planet, our opportunity to be a force to advance humankind in all respects is without limit and, one after another, this Nation has squandered those opportunities, leaving more Americans in poverty and without health insurance, breathing dirtier air, fewer with a chance of college, 1,027 dead in a war that has made the United States reviled around the world.

The Democrats are offering today a different vision, inviting all Americans to partner with us and each other in an America built on our shared values of prosperity, opportunity and fairness for all, national security, accountability and community.

Together, we can fulfill the great promise and the great hope that is the United States of America.