[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 20 (Tuesday, January 31, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H517-H518]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      RESTORING THE AMERICAN DREAM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Rhode Island (Mr. Magaziner) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MAGAZINER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer my first general 
remarks on the floor of the United States House of Representatives, and 
I would like to start by thanking my predecessor, Jim Langevin, for his 
22 years of distinguished service representing the people of Rhode 
Island's Second District.
  As the first quadriplegic ever elected to Congress, Jim was no 
stranger to life's challenges. No matter what was thrown Jim's way, he 
always persevered.
  For over two decades, Jim Langevin made Rhode Islanders proud through 
his leadership here in this body. He became widely recognized as an 
expert on national security and particularly cybersecurity. He was a 
trailblazer for the disability community and shepherded several key 
pieces of legislation that have made our society more accessible for 
all.
  Most of all, Rhode Islanders always knew that they could count on Jim 
to listen to their problems and to advocate for their families here in 
Washington, D.C.
  I thank Jim for all his years of service to Rhode Island.
  I am so honored that Rhode Islanders have chosen me to take up the 
mantle of representing the Second District. I am deeply grateful for 
this opportunity, and I feel a great sense of responsibility to deliver 
for the working people who sent me here to fight on their behalf.
  I enter Congress as a proud descendant of immigrants. My grandparents 
came of age during the Depression.
  On my mother's side was Grandpa Bob, the son of Irish immigrants who 
grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts. After serving in the Marines in 
World War II, Bob took a job as a steelworker at a company that made 
airplane parts.
  On my father's side was Grandpa Louis, the son of Jewish immigrants 
from Eastern Europe who was raised in New York City and served in the 
U.S. Army in Europe during World War II. After he returned, Louis 
worked as a bookkeeper in New York for a company that canned tomatoes.
  Neither of them worked in particularly glamorous jobs, but with a lot 
of hard work and a little help from the GI Bill, these two children of 
immigrants

[[Page H518]]

were able to buy houses for their families, put their kids through 
school, and earn a ticket to the middle class.
  That is the way it is supposed to be in this country. If you work 
hard and play by the rules, you ought to be able to have a stable life, 
a comfortable retirement, and provide opportunity to your children.
  We all know that has gotten harder. That American Dream of economic 
mobility has broken down for many families, and it was never fully 
afforded to others to begin with. There are a lot of statistics to back 
this up, but the Rhode Islanders I talk to don't want to see data. They 
feel it in their gut. They know that they are working harder and 
harder, but they feel that middle-class lifestyle slipping further out 
of reach.
  This has to change. As a Representative for Rhode Island's Second 
District, I am determined to restore the promise of the American Dream 
so that everyone who is willing to do the right thing and work hard can 
get ahead.
  That starts by going to bat for working people against the powerful 
interests and their well-funded lobbyists who stand in the way of 
better wages, better benefits, and good-paying jobs. We must fight for 
the right to organize because you cannot have a broad middle class 
without healthy labor unions. We have to take on Big Oil and Big 
Pharma, which are keeping record profits for themselves while 
overcharging Rhode Islanders at the gas pump and at the pharmacy.
  We have to invest in childcare and universal preschool because no 
child's future should be limited by whether or not their parents have a 
lot of money.
  I will advocate for vocational training and apprenticeships so that 
we have more people, like my Grandpa Bob, who can make a living by 
making things in this country.
  I will partner with anyone on either side of the aisle to bring back 
more manufacturing jobs and transition to a clean energy economy.
  I will always fight to defend the freedoms and democratic ideals that 
make us the greatest nation on Earth.
  This is my commitment to the people of Rhode Island. There is no 
question we have a lot of work ahead of us, but together, I am 
confident that we can deliver real change to Washington so that all 
Rhode Islanders and all working Americans can have the opportunity to 
succeed.

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