[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 167 (Thursday, November 3, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H7272]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      A SALUTE TO PUBLIC EMPLOYEES

  (Mr. ELLISON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, my friends on the other side of the aisle 
are very fond of saying that government doesn't create jobs but only 
the private sector. But all you've got to do is talk to any small 
business person on any Main Street in America and ask them, if the 
police department didn't come out and make sure that they had a safe 
neighborhood, how would that affect their business? Or you can go to a 
trucking company and say, you know, if the roads and the bridges and 
the transportation network of this country were not in place, could you 
ship products if we didn't have an interstate highway system? They 
would tell you, obviously the government helps business. Obviously. 
This is so obvious that we have to state the obvious here on the floor 
of Congress.
  This anti-government, anti-public sector, anti-public employee and 
worker attitude does not help our country. It sets us back, and it is 
wrong. And I, for one, want to salute the everyday heros--the cops, the 
firefighters, the teachers, the people who work on our roads, the 
people who make sure we have clean water and air to breathe.
  Go for it, public employees. We're proud of you.

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