[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 5 (Tuesday, February 3, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H110]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       THE AMERICAN DREAM FOR ALL

  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am not sure if my colleagues 
on the other side of the aisle heard the same message that I heard and 
the American people heard at the State of the Union, and as well, at 
the budget presentation that was made by the President just yesterday; 
that is, that we have the first balanced budget in the history of this 
Nation in the last 30 years.
  In addition, let me offer to say to my colleagues that the point is 
how the American people perceive the next decade and the 21st century. 
Are my colleagues to tell me that the American people do not want real, 
viable and trustworthy child care; that we are not suffering from the 
crumbling schools around the Nation; that we do not want to emphasize 
education and opportunities for higher education for those moving from 
welfare to work? I think not.
  Mr. Speaker, a 79 percent approval rating after the State of the 
Union indicates that the American people want action. Yes, they want a 
balanced budget, but they also want to go into the future, standing 
tall. They want an increase in the minimum wage. Yes, they want the 
same things that those who make $200,000 and up have in this country. 
They want the American dream.
  So I say to my colleagues, follow the American people, and if you 
cannot, get out of the way, because we have a balanced budget and we 
have a vision for the 21st century.

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