We Can Transfrom Common Dreams Into The Common Good

WE CAN TRANSFORM COMMON DREAMS INTO THE COMMON GOOD -- (House of Representatives - January 17, 2007)

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 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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