January 28, 2003
Members of the Progressive Caucus, the largest single caucus in the House Democratic Caucus with over 50 members, offered a framework to reconstruct economic and national security by creating jobs, building infrastructure, protecting civil rights and civil liberties, preserving environmental safeguards, and utilizing diplomacy and United Nations inspections rather than war to advance our foreign policy goals and ensure the disarmament of Iraq. The Caucus advocated expanding unemployment benefits to cover the one million Americans left out in the cold by the recent Republican legislation and stimulating the economy through job creation, housing and school construction, and other measures in order to direct money toward working Americans rather than the wealthy.
“We are holding an Alternative State of the Union address because we believe that Americans deserve a vision of a future of peace and justice rather than war and economic hardship and inequality,” said Congresswoman Lee. “At last year’s State of the Union, President Bush gave us the axis of evil. Today, we face crises and possible war on multiple fronts. In fact, we face possible endless war because the doctrine of preemption knows no limits. It also brings us no security.”
“Here in the United States, we hold ourselves up as model for all countries and peoples who seek to be free,” Congresswoman Lee stated. “We are not living up to this model. But we can. We can pursue peace and justice and through them achieve security. We can regrow this economy and create jobs and opportunities. We can preserve important existing protections, from affirmative action to reproductive freedoms to the Clean Air Act. We can invest in education, healthcare, and home building. And, next year’s State of the Union could then be a reflection of how far we have come and how much progress we have made. That is the America that the Progressive Caucus envisions, and that is the future we will help forge.”
Congresswoman Lee’s appearance with the Progressive Caucus marked the end of a morning in which she had also been a guest on C-Span’s Washington Journal, part of a network that 28.5 million Americans tune in to each week.
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Congresswoman Lee and Progressive Caucus Deliver Alternative State of the Union
Washington, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, led their colleagues in delivering an Alternative State of the Union address, offering a perspective on America and a prescription for its future that is markedly different from the one President Bush is expected to give tonight.Members of the Progressive Caucus, the largest single caucus in the House Democratic Caucus with over 50 members, offered a framework to reconstruct economic and national security by creating jobs, building infrastructure, protecting civil rights and civil liberties, preserving environmental safeguards, and utilizing diplomacy and United Nations inspections rather than war to advance our foreign policy goals and ensure the disarmament of Iraq. The Caucus advocated expanding unemployment benefits to cover the one million Americans left out in the cold by the recent Republican legislation and stimulating the economy through job creation, housing and school construction, and other measures in order to direct money toward working Americans rather than the wealthy.
“We are holding an Alternative State of the Union address because we believe that Americans deserve a vision of a future of peace and justice rather than war and economic hardship and inequality,” said Congresswoman Lee. “At last year’s State of the Union, President Bush gave us the axis of evil. Today, we face crises and possible war on multiple fronts. In fact, we face possible endless war because the doctrine of preemption knows no limits. It also brings us no security.”
“Here in the United States, we hold ourselves up as model for all countries and peoples who seek to be free,” Congresswoman Lee stated. “We are not living up to this model. But we can. We can pursue peace and justice and through them achieve security. We can regrow this economy and create jobs and opportunities. We can preserve important existing protections, from affirmative action to reproductive freedoms to the Clean Air Act. We can invest in education, healthcare, and home building. And, next year’s State of the Union could then be a reflection of how far we have come and how much progress we have made. That is the America that the Progressive Caucus envisions, and that is the future we will help forge.”
Congresswoman Lee’s appearance with the Progressive Caucus marked the end of a morning in which she had also been a guest on C-Span’s Washington Journal, part of a network that 28.5 million Americans tune in to each week.
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