Congressional Black Caucus
"The Conscience of Congress since 1969"
www.congressionalblackcaucus.net

(Washington, D.C.)- U.S. Representative Gwen Moore (D-WI) will deliver the weekly CBC "Message to America" radio address this Saturday, July 22, 2006.  Representative Moore will discuss the need for a New Direction for America.

The CBC "Message to America" is distributed nationwide to the American Urban Radio Network's (AURN) affiliate stations.

WHO:        U.S. Representative Gwen Moore (D-WI)

WHEN:      Saturday, July 22, 2006; 12:06 p.m. EST

WHERE:   American Urban Radio Network Affiliate Stations

Representative Moore is expected to deliver the following remarks:

 “Hello, I’m Congresswoman Gwen Moore and I represent Wisconsin’s Fourth Congressional District.  I serve on the House Financial Services Committee and Small Business Committee, and I am so pleased to speak to you today on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus.

 “With a little more than three months before the mid-term election, the Republican leaders in Congress have filled our legislative schedule with meaningless bills meant to pander to their conservative base, while they ignore the work we should be doing for American people and continue to steer our country in the wrong direction.  Their strategy is meant to divide the nation and distract the voters from what is becoming more and more obvious:  that Republicans have done nothing to address the problems that Americans face daily.

 “Republicans control the Presidency, the Senate, and the House.  With all that power they have not made it a priority to relieve your pain at the gas pump, but instead they’ve found the time to grant nearly $10 billion in tax breaks to large energy companies earlier this year.  Meanwhile, minimum wage earners must use a full day’s pay to fill up their tank.

 “With complete control of the federal government, the Republicans could—if they choose—truly follow their own rhetoric of leaving no child behind, but instead millions of America’s youth still sit in overcrowded classrooms, in crumbling buildings, sharing textbooks and falling behind our international competitors in the race to dominate the global economy.

 “Instead of delivering educational opportunity, the Republicans choose to waste time on the floor of the House debating a bill about protecting the Pledge of Allegiance, preaching the evils of flag-burning, and blaming the fragile state of our families, many mired in abject poverty, on gay people.  The American public needs to ask itself these questions:

 “Why pledge allegiance to a cloth flag, but pledge nothing for the millions of American human beings who can’t afford healthcare?  Where is the pledge to protect the American soldiers in Iraq who are still fighting a questionable war without adequate armor?  When are our Republican leaders going to find the time to rebuild New Orleans and prevent the future abandonment of poor Americans the next time there is a natural disaster on our soil?  When will they finally protect family values and raise the minimum wage so that full-time workers don’t find themselves and their kids living in poverty, instead of etching discrimination into our sacred constitution?

 “America desperately needs to head in a New Direction, and Democrats are offering just that.  Who is going to stand up for the common good of America, and not just for the good of corporate executive millionaires?  You have the right to be represented by someone who cares about the most pressing issues in your daily life.  Together, we have the power to turn the tide toward a New Direction for America.”

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