[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 17, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H636-H637]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          WE CAN TRANSFORM COMMON DREAMS INTO THE COMMON GOOD

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, we each have our heroes. Gandhi is one of 
mine. Gandhi said, ``Be the change you want to see in the world.'' 
Those are words to live by and a philosophy to guide us in making laws 
that affect the American people.
  I have been elected as a subcommittee chairman in the new Congress, 
and I think the American people and my House colleagues deserve to hear 
something about my vision about that responsibility.
  I am elected to chair the Human Resources Subcommittee of the Ways 
and Means Committee. Human resources is really about America's safety 
net. This subcommittee has jurisdiction over many vital social and 
economic programs that support the American people. They are key 
portions of the Social Security Act, which include unemployment 
insurance, temporary assistance for needy families, supplemental 
security income, and programs to protect vulnerable and assist 
disadvantaged children. I don't think the present subcommittee name 
``Human Resources'' really conveys the mission of that committee or the 
urgency, so we have decided to change the name to the Subcommittee on 
Economic Security and Family Support.
  In one sentence, here is my vision of what this subcommittee can do 
in service of the American people: We can transform common dreams into 
the common good, and we have a social responsibility and a moral 
imperative to do it. We should at least begin an effort to cut poverty 
by 50 percent, and I intend to try.
  Millions of Americans, many in families where both parents work, live 
in poverty today. That should be unacceptable in the richest nation in 
the world. The millions of children who go to bed hungry tonight, 
abandoned, abused, neglected, or just plain forgotten, it is a shame. 
We have got to remember. We have got to say to these children, ``You 
are not alone, and we will help.'' We can inspire innovations in child 
welfare for children in kinship care, for foster parents, for case 
workers, for family court workers, and countless other unsung heroes in 
America. ``We thank you for your service to the children and your 
communities and your family, and I don't think it is unreasonable to 
expect that your government does its part.''
  I am not standing here as a Democrat. Good ideas don't begin with a 
political party label; good ideas begin with a commitment to something 
bigger than ourselves but involving all of us. It is the common good. 
No child should be alone in a country as compassionate as ours. We can 
start there, and then debate the ideas and programs that can deliver 
the common good. We can vow to cut poverty in half.
  Just 2 days ago, we stopped to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. Let's 
not forget something Dr. King said: ``Injustice anywhere is a threat to 
justice everywhere.'' That applies to every nation on earth, including 
the United States. The richest nation on the earth is poorer for every 
American who lives in poverty. There is work to be done, and we cannot 
deny it. We can make America the nation where social and economic 
justice applies to everyone regardless of their economic circumstance.
  We admire the visionary work done by leaders who have come before us. 
These leaders believed we have an obligation to assist Americans who 
lose their job through no fault of their own. In the 21st century, 
changes wrought by a global marketplace should challenge us to 
reexamine and strengthen the support for American workers. Anyone who 
loses their job, especially an older worker, knows what I mean. America 
is a nation founded on the common good. It is the fundamental basis of 
this country, and every caring family, we take care of each other.
  The safety net committee I chair is woven out of the social fabric 
that created America. We have been handed the

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responsibility and an expectation to do good. It is far too convenient 
to bash the government and blame it for all our ills. In America, the 
people are the government. I think the people expect and deserve a 
government that acts in their name and on their behalf in a way that 
reflects the hope and promise America has meant for over two centuries.
  America's future is in our hands, and it is within our power to 
nurture, heal, and defend. That is my mission, and that is the mission 
of this Congress. The safety net is ours to weave and ours to protect. 
We must do it.

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