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Meet and Greet with John Hickenlooper in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa on Saturday, April 13, 2019
Jerry's Restaurant
2105 E Washington St
Mt Pleasant, IA 52641
Saturday, April 13, 2019 1:00pm–2:00pm CDT
Join former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and the Henry County Democrats for a meet and greet in Mt. Pleasant on Saturday, April 13th to learn more about his vision for America.
Meet John Hickenlooper in Keokuk, Iowa on Saturday, April 13, 2019
The Hawkeye Restaurant
105 N Park Dr
Keokuk, IA 52632
Saturday, April 13, 2019 11:00am–12:00pm CDT
Join former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and the Lee County Democrats for a meet and greet in Keokuk on Saturday, April 13th to learn more about his vision for America.
Meet John Hickenlooper in West Liberty, Iowa on Friday, April 12, 2019
Lisa's Place
214 E 3rd St
West Liberty, IA 52776
Friday, April 12, 2019 7:00pm–8:00pm CDT
Join former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and the West Liberty Education Association for a meet and greet in West Liberty on April 12th to learn more about his vision for America.
https://www.mobilize.us/hickenlooper2020/event/89171/
Bernie Sanders Returns to Iowa for a Rally at the RiverCenter in Davenport on Friday, April 5, 2019
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Bernie Sanders returns to Iowa next week for a rally in Davenport. The trip comes on the heels of a five state swing through California, Nevada, South Carolina, New Hampshire and Iowa.
Sanders last visited the state in early March, hosting rallies in Council Bluffs, Iowa City and Des Moines.
Here is the itinerary:
Friday, April 5
7 p.m. Rally in Davenport with Sen. Bernie Sanders Mississippi Hall at the RiverCenter,136 E 3rd St, Davenport, IA 52801
Information for the public: This event is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required, but an RSVP is encouraged. Entrance is provided on a first come, first served basis. https://act.berniesanders.com/signup/event-190405-davenport/
TRANSCRIPT: Beto O’Rourke Officially Launches Presidential Campaign with over 6,000 Grassroots Supporters in El Paso
EL PASO, TEXAS -- Beto O’Rourke officially kicked off his campaign for President of the United States this morning at a public grassroots rally with more than 6,000 supporters in his hometown of El Paso. During the speech, O’Rourke shared his positive, unifying vision for bridging divides and bringing together Americans from all walks of life to overcome the greatest set of challenges this country has ever faced. His remarks focused on the urgent need to take on powerful special interests to address the most profound issues facing the nation including climate change, criminal justice reform, access to universal, guaranteed, high-quality health care, immigration laws that reflect our values and ensuring that this economy works for all Americans.
O'Rourke is continuing the day with a 5:00 p.m. CT rally in Houston at Texas Southern University and a 9:00 p.m. CT rally in Austin at the Texas state Capitol. The full remarks from this morning are below.
***As Delivered***
Thank you. Thank you all for being here. So grateful to everyone who is here today, so grateful to this community of El Paso, and I'm very grateful to each one of you who made the trip to come here and join us in our hometown in this community. It was really important for Amy and me to launch this campaign from El Paso.
This is a city where I was born. It's the city where Melissa and Pat O'Rourke raised me, my sisters Erin and Charlotte. It's the same city where Amy and I are raising our three kids, and perhaps most importantly, El Paso to me represents America and its very best. For more than a hundred years this community has welcomed generations of immigrants from across the Rio Grande, some having traveled hundreds of miles, some having traveled thousands of miles trying to escape brutality, violence, and crushing poverty to find a better life in this country for themselves and for their kids, that's for sure, but also because they were called to contribute to our shared success and to this country's greatness, and they have.
El Paso has been home to leaders in the struggles of civil rights and workers' rights, the Mexican-Americans who led the Chicano Movement, the women in this town who organized the Farah strike, and black El Pasoans like Dr. Lawrence Nixon, like Thelma White, who not only secured voting rights in this state, but they ensured that El Paso would be among the first cities of the former confederacy to desegregate our public places and integrate our education.
With Ciudad Juarez we formed the largest binational community in this hemisphere. And for 20 years running, we've been one of the safest cities in the United States of America. We are safe, not despite the fact that we are a city of immigrants and asylum seekers. We are safe because we are a city of immigrants and asylum seekers. We have learned, we have learned not to fear our differences, but to respect and embrace them. We see the languages spoken in this community, the traditions, the cultures, as a strength for El Paso. We understand, we understand that we are, in the words of Dr. King, caught in an inescapable network of mutuality tied in a single garment of destiny.
This community has offered me my inspiration in life and every single opportunity that I've had, to the world-class public school teachers at Mesita Elementary who believed in me and sought to bring out the very best in me, to the small business community who allowed me to work for them as we were starting our own small business here in this community, and those who joined that business creating high skill, high wage, high-valued jobs in a community that had so much talent, but was just looking for a way to express itself, and to those community leaders, Border Network for Human Rights, Annunciation House, the Women's March, you have shown me what leadership is.
You elected me in 2005 to serve this community on the city council, not as a democrat, not as a republican, but as an El Pasoan, working with our fellow El Pasoans to improve this community, to turn around our mass transit system, to invest in neighborhoods and people, to protect our public spaces, and to never shy away from the fights in front of us, like extending healthcare benefits to the same-sex partners of city employees regardless of the consequences, regardless of the recall elections that would follow. And in 2012, we won a race against the odds and against the establishment to represent El Paso in the United States Congress.
We ran by talking and listening to you about tough issues like the veteran suicides that followed the fact that we had the longest wait times for mental healthcare access at a VA in the country. We talked about a war on drugs that had become a war on people. And thanks to you, once in office, we were able to deliver. We helped to turn around the VA in El Paso, expand mental healthcare for veterans nationally, expand our protected public spaces, improve our security and our connections with Mexico by investing in our ports of entry, and having the backs of every single service member and their families stationed at Fort Bliss or deployed around the world. You found, or you helped me to find those republican colleagues with whom I could walk across the aisle or drive across the country to get the job done for El Paso and for the United States, and we did.
In El Paso, it was your story that I told all over Texas in every single one of these 254 counties, all people, no PACs, all the time. Everyone counts, everyone matters, so we showed up everywhere to listen to everyone. Didn't matter how red or how rural, how blue, or how urban, we showed up both with the courage of our convictions and a willingness to listen and learn from those who we sought to serve in the senate. And though we did not win that race, although we came awfully close, we all, we all got to be part of something absolutely transformational in our lives and in the democracy of this state.
We were able to win votes from republicans and independents, expand the number of democrats who voted in an election, and this state, this state, which before 2018 had ranked 50th in voter turnout, this state saw voter turnout approaching presidential year election levels. This state, this state saw young voter turnout up 500 percent over the last midterm election. This state and its 38 electoral votes count like they've never counted before. All of us have a seat at the table. All of us matter.
In the United States House of Representatives, two new members of Congress from Texas, both democrats, elected into what we thought, what we were told to believe were safe republican seats. The composition of the state legislature has changed. And in Houston, Texas, 17 African-American women winning judicial positions literally changing the face of criminal justice in this country's most diverse city, you did that. You did that. Your votes, your willingness to volunteer, the pop-up offices that you hosted in your home, that's how we made this happen. And that's why I am so glad to be here with you today in my hometown, in my home state, to announce that I'm running to serve you as the next president of the United States of America. Thank you.
This, this is a campaign for America, for everyone in America. Like so many of you here, like so many more across the country, at this defining moment, Amy and I want to know that we've done everything within our power for this country. And though we know it comes at some sacrifice to our family, especially to our kids, we also know that our children and that your children and the generations that follow them are depending on us now at this moment. This is our moment of truth. This is our moment of truth, and we cannot be found wanting.
The challenges before us are the greatest of our lifetimes. An economy that works too well for too few and not at all for too many more. A healthcare system where millions are unable to see a doctor or be well enough to live to their full potential, and the last best hope of averting the catastrophe that will follow additional climate change fading before our very inaction. We must overcome these challenges, but we must first ask ourselves how this, the wealthiest, the most powerful country on the face of the planet, the most powerful country that world history has ever known, has found itself in such a perilous position.
For too long in this country, the powerful have maintained their privilege at the expense of the powerless. They have used, they have used fear and division in the same way that our current president uses fear and division. Based on the differences between us of race, of ethnicity, of geography, or religion to keep us apart, to make us angry, to make us afraid of ourselves and of one another, unrestrained money and influence has warped the priorities of this country. It has corrupted our democracy. It has invited the citicism and the distrust and the disengagement of millions of our fellow Americans who see their very own government enthralled to those who can pay for access and for outcomes.
A vigorous democracy, both political and economic, is the only check against this inertia of power, the only way to free our institutions of their capture and corruption, and the only means by which we can lift the voices and the lives of our fellow Americans. But when, but when the safeguards of this democracy are manipulated by those in power, when members of Congress can choose their own voters, when the Supreme Court decides that corporations are people and money is speech, when PACs and special interests can buy the outcomes of elections and legislation, and when voting rights are not expanded, they are functionally withdrawn, then we run the risk of becoming a democracy in name only. And the idea that we are founded on the principle that we are all created equal, to equal opportunity, is justifiably seen as a lie to those who have experienced gross differences in opportunity and outcome when it comes to education or healthcare or economic advancement or justice. So whatever our differences, where you live, who you love, to whom you pray, for whom you voted in the last election, let those differences not define us or divide us at this moment. Let's agree going forward before we are anything else, we are Americans first. We are Americans first, and we will put the business of this country before us.
So if you believe in guaranteed high-quality universal healthcare, because you have seen the cost and the consequence of millions of our fellow Americans who have no healthcare or do not have enough healthcare, then let us come together around a policy that begins by prioritizing affordability in prescription medications that ensures that we bring down the cost of our premiums and our deductibles. And in a country, and in a country where too many of our fellow Americans are dying of diabetes in the year 2019, dying of the flu, dying of curable cancers, in a community, in a state, in a country where one of the largest providers of mental healthcare services is the county jail system, and in a nation that is in the midst of a maternal mortality crisis three times as deadly for women of color, then let us ensure that universal healthcare means all of us can see a primary care provider, all of us can get mental healthcare help, and that universal care means every woman makes her own decisions about her own body. We can give every American, every business in this country the choice to enroll in Medicare without eliminating plans that many Americans like for their families because those plans work for their families. Everyone able to see a doctor. Everyone able to afford their prescription. Everyone able to take their child to a therapist. No one left behind. No one priced out.
We must get to universal guaranteed high-quality healthcare as soon as surely as we possibly can.
If we believe in an economy that works for all, we want to make sure that everyone has the chance to advance, then let's begin with the very youngest among us and invest in a world-class public school system pre-K to 12 everywhere in every community, and then let's do this. Let's pay our teachers what they are worth a living wage. There is no reason that any educator, any teacher should be working two or three jobs when they have the most important job in front of them, unlocking that lifelong love of learning within every single child. Once we do that, there's no stopping those kids. There's no stopping this country. And when they graduate from high school, let's make sure that they are both college ready and career ready, ready to go on to debt-free higher education, and ready to go to a job that provides purpose and pays a real paycheck.
Speaking of that, let's also insist that we will not continue to diminish the power of unions. We will strengthen unions in this country. Unions who insist that one job should be enough for every single American, unions who will help us to provide apprenticeships, not just for that young woman or young man graduating from high school, but for that parent who has finished raising their kids, for that worker whose job has been automated out of existence, apprenticeships ensure that we have the skills and the trades that command a living salary for the rest of your life, so let's strengthen those unions going forward.
And in rural America, if we want to lift up rural America, let's begin by listening to rural America. Let's partner with them in investing in hospitals, in schools, in infrastructure like broadband internet, and then let's ensure that every farmer, every rancher, every grower, every producer can make a profit as they grow, what feeds and clothes not just America, but so much of the rest of the world. And those farmers, like anyone else, wants to make sure that we are meeting the challenge of climate change before it is too late, let's open up technologies and markets to them that provide an incentive for capturing the carbon that we're currently emitting in the air.
I want to make sure that your gender, that your race, that your family does not prevent you from advancing in this economy, so let's do a few things. Let's pay women equal to what men make in this country. Let's sign into law paid family leave for every single family in this country. Let's ban workplace discrimination, and let's do this. Let's make sure that there's access to capital for communities who have effectively been shut out of access to capital, home loans, and the ability to build wealth in this country for generations.
And if we believe in justice for all in the face of the largest prison population per capita on this planet, one disproportionately comprised of people of color, then we must do the following; not only end the federal prohibition on marijuana, not only expunge the arrest records of everyone arrested for possession of something that is legal in more than half the country, we must not only end cash bail and for-profit prisons in the United States of America, but we must also confront the legacy of certain communities who have been criminalized and cut down based on the color of their skin, confronting, confronting the legacy and the consequences of slavery and segregation, and the continuing suppression of our fellow Americans is the only way that we will begin to repair the damage and keep ourselves from committing the same injustices.
And if we truly believe that we are a country of immigrants and asylum seekers and refugees, and they are the very premise of our strength, of our success, and yes, our security, then let us free every single dreamer from any fear of deportation. Let's bring millions more out of the shadows and onto a path to contribute to their maximum potential to the success of this country. Let's not only, let's not only follow this country's asylum laws, but let's make sure that we never take another child from another mother at their most desperate and vulnerable moment. Let us, let us reunite every single one of those families that are still separated today. And let's remember that every single one of us, including those who are just three or four blocks from here, detained under the International Bridge that connects us with Mexico behind chain-linked fence and barbed wire, that they are our fellow human beings and deserved to be treated like our fellow human beings.
We will find security not through walls, not through militarization. We will find security by focusing on our ports of entry that connect us to the rest of the world so we have a better idea of who and what is coming in here, and we facilitate the trade and travel connected to millions of jobs around this country.
We will support our CBP officers, our Border Patrol Agents. We will treat every single American with the dignity and respect that they are owed as Americans and as human beings. And if, if we are really serious about security, we have a golden opportunity, republicans, independents, democrats alike, to work on comprehensive immigration reform, to rewrite this country's immigration laws in our own image with our own values and in the best traditions of the United States of America.
For all, for all of the veterans here in El Paso, a community that has distinguished itself in service to country going back to Marcelino Serna in World War I, an undocumented immigrant who went over to France with the US Army and came back the most highly decorated veteran from the state of Texas, to the Milanos brothers in Vietnam, to every man and every woman who right now has their life on the line for this country, if we truly appreciate your service, not only will we make sure that we make the investments in the VA to care for you when you return from having borne the battle, especially for those conditions connected to service and combat, posttraumatic stress order, traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma, we will also ensure that there is a roof over the head of every single veteran who's sleeping on the streets tonight. And then if we really mean it, if we really mean it, we will ensure that this country does not start yet another war before every peaceful, diplomatic, nonviolent alternative is explored and pursued, and those wars that we ask our fellow Americans, these service members to fight on our behalf, 17 years and counting in Afghanistan, 27 years and counting in Iraq, let's bring these wars to a close and bring these service members back home to their families, to their communities, and to their country.
If, after 300 years, after the enlightenment we can still listen to and believe the scientists, and I for one do, who tell us that thanks to our own emissions, our own excesses, and our own inaction, this planet has warmed one degree Celsius just since 1980. And the fires and the floods and the droughts and the manmade natural disasters will only get worse if this planet warms another degree Celsius, and this is our moment with little more than 10 years to spare to do everything in our power to free this economy from a dependence on fossil fuels, greenhouse gas emissions, and to ensure, as we make the investment in new technologies and renewable energy, that everyone has the chance to benefit from this new economy, especially those communities, lower income and too often of color, that have borne the brunt of climate change so far.
This country has shown that we can do it. When the Western world faced the existential threat of Nazi Germany more than 80 years ago, this country harnessed the political will of hundreds of millions here of the Western democracy, not only to win that war for the following 80 years to make this world safe for democracy and to lift millions in this country into the middle class, this is our opportunity right now to do something for a far greater existential threat, to do more not just for those here with us today, but for the people of the future, our kids, and grandkids, and every generation that succeeds them.
We have to once again reassert our role on the world stage in order to do this. But if we're going to do that, we've got to strengthen these historic friendships and alliances, so many of them forged in sacrifice. The service of men and women who put their lives on the line and lost their lives to this country, let's make sure that that sacrifice was not squandered. Let's make sure that we strengthen those alliances. Let's end these love affairs with dictators and strong men all over the world. Let's earn, let's earn the respect of the people around the world, not just by how we treat those in other countries, but how we treat those within our country, and how we treat those who are at the border of our country.
If we do that, we can make sure that we once again become the indispensable nation convening the other nations of this planet around some of our shared challenges like climate change, like nuclear disarmament, like ending all of these wars that we are currently engaged in, we can do for ourselves what no other country can, and we have an opportunity at this moment to reprioritize this hemisphere those countries and people who are literally connected to us by land.
We can try to solve the problems of Central America here at our front door at the Texas-Mexico border, or we can invest in the opportunities to help the people of Central America where they are at home. It is our choice. But to do any of this, we've got to understand that our country's success depends on the success of this democracy. It is a single greatest mechanism that human kind has ever devised to call forth the power, the potential, and the genius of a people around their challenges and their opportunities. And so every single citizen must be able to vote, and every vote must count.
As president, I will sign into law a new Voting Rights Act. Together we will end gerrymandering, we will get big money out of our politics, and all across this country, we will have automatic and same-day voter registration. That's how we're going to do it.
But a full political democracy is only possible if we vigorously pursue a true economic democracy. Every child, every man, every woman in this country must be able to see a future for themselves in this country, otherwise this country will have no future as a democracy. That means that this extraordinary, unprecedented concentration of wealth and power and privilege must be broken apart. An opportunity must be shared with all.
(Spanish spoken)
We will not allow ourselves to be defined by our fears or our differences. Instead, we shall be known forever after by our ambitions, our aspirations, the resolve, the creativity, the service and the sacrifice that we brought to bear in order to achieve them. Our ability to campaign in this way with people, not corporations or PACs, but people who come together not only to ensure that we win the nomination, not only to ensure that we defeat Donald Trump in November of 2020, but people in every state, in every territory, from every walk of life coming together to show that the power of people is what is necessary for us to accomplish our priorities.
I am so grateful to be able to run to serve you as the next president of the United States of America, and I am so grateful for every one of you who has joined or will join this campaign and sacrifice some part of your life towards the success of this great country. Together, together we can make sure that America fulfills its promise for ourselves, for each other, and for every generation that succeeds us. Thank you, El Paso. Thank you, everyone. God bless you, and God bless America.
###
Remarks: Wayne Messam Launches Presidential Campaign, Proposal to Eliminate $1.5 Trillion in Student Debt
Miramar, Fla. — Today, Mayor Wayne Messam formally launches his campaign for President at Florida Memorial University, the only HBCU in South Florida, and rolls out his plan to resolve the student debt crisis.
Remarks — as Prepared for Delivery:
"Good afternoon, America!
"To my wife, Angela, my twin daughters, and my namesake...
"As many of you may now know...
"I’m the son a former contract sugar cane cutter. My immigrant father cut sugar cane in the Glades for over a decade, at times for only 75 cents a row of cane. My mother used to feed the workers in the migrant camp and later became a domestic worker.
"I was born in Pahokee, FL and grew up in South Bay. The area in South Florida affectionately known as the Muck. The lessons of hard work and self-confidence was instilled in me since I was a boy. My parents didn’t make it an option about whether or not I would get an education. Because they knew, I could have a shot at achieving the American Dream.
"You know, The American Dream isn’t ficticious to me, it’s real. Here’s my story.
"National football championship with Bobby Bowden playing amazing teammates like NFL hall of famer Derrick Brooks, & Warrick Dunn. I even had a shot at the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals.
"After my NFL career was cut short, my wife and I started a construction business during the Great Recession
"Let me tell you about my first campaign...(city commission won by 30 votes - you can’t tell me 1 vote doesn’t matter - especially here in Florida).
"I then took on a new challenge, defeating a 16 year incumbent, then won reelection with 86% of the vote
"Now I know the national pundits and the status quo in Washington are asking “why would a mayor run for President?” and “is he qualified?”
"The real question should be what does Washington experience have to do with meeting the needs of the American people?
"There’s a good reason that 2020 will be “the year of the Mayor”. Mayors are on the frontlines of cleaning up Washington's mess.
"As Mayor I have:
"Beat out China to bring jobs to our city.
"Helped city recover from Hurricane Irma.
"Led the fight against oil drilling to protect the environment.
"Helped pass a living wage increase.
"Sued the state of Florida to fight for the right to reform our gun laws.
"During the recent government shutdown, I passed water bill relief for federal workers, to clean up Washington’s mess.
"Recruited high paying jobs to put Floridians to work.
"Declared Miramar a safe place for immigrants.
"I'll put that record against any Washington politician on the left or right.
"That’s why I stand before you today…
"The son of an immigrant sugar cane cutter and a cook.
"A concerned citizen, sick and tired of being concerned.
"The mayor of a city with one of the nation’s fastest growing economies, too morally disturbed by the state of our nation to wait my turn, too disgusted by the reckless and irresponsible behavior in the White House to turn a blind eye, too impatient with the pace of change, to sit idle while crisis after crisis piles up on the horizon...
"Today, I wanted you to hear first - I am running for President of the United States of America.
"I’m running because as Dr. King said “this is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism”.
"I’m running for President so that my twin daughters and my son can grow up in a world where we face our challenges as Americans and spend our energy trying to solve them.
"No longer can we…
"Turn a blind eye to the student loan debt crisis.
"Accept anything but a short timeline to take action on climate change.
"Blindly accept that our country has a mass shooting nearly every single day.
"Fail to plan for the changing economy and the impacts of artificial intelligence.
"We are one nation.
"The American people are not ammunition to win a political battle.
"They are our only hope.
"Because of them that’s why change cannot wait.
"I'm running for President because our politics has become too small, our public morale, too decayed.
"It is time America leads the world again, and the only way we can do this is to go big. We must be bold and our foreign policy must reflect our values if we are to truly lead.
"We are capable of transformational change when we decide to work together as a human family.
"When we place the pursuit of happiness for every American as a priority, not just the ones we personally prefer.
"Americans may be the most blessed, but we have always risked that blessing for the greater good.
"Regardless of whether you worship God in South Carolina or remain in awe of the universe in Southern California, we all share the same heartbeat, the same need for clean air and water. The same desire to raise our children to be better than we were.
"We are inextricably linked and unable to detach from our greater humanity.
"Before they tell you that this is not possible and is all pie in the sky, let me tell you about the construction business my wife and I founded.
" I started a construction business from scratch with wife, scraping together our savings.
"Helped build green and climate-conscious projects, including the greenest school in the Southeastern United States, achieving LEED Platinum certification.
"I have overseen nearly half a billion in contracts, including working on the FLL airport.
"People in Washington talk endlessly about the need to rebuild our infrastructure and plan for a sustainable future, but have little to show for it.
"Well, I’ve done it and am ready to lead a nationwide rebuilding effort. I’m asking you to stand with me and together we can rebuild this great nation we love, from the ground up.
"My wife and I have been blessed to have the opportunity to create a successful business.
"We are eternally grateful for the opportunities available in America, and we want to make sure those opportunities remain available for all Americans.
"But as an American, it is my duty to keep it real and speak truth to power.
"Let’s start first by addressing the elephant in the room that our country has not confronted head on: the student loan debt crisis.
"For many of you beginning your career, you carry a burden unlike any other burden faced by students of my generation.
"We’re asking those in college today, those heading into college, and even those parents and grandparents who paid for their children and grandchildren to get a good college education, to pay off massive student debt as the price for the American Dream.
"This student loan debt crisis is not being addressed in at all Washington.
"I was lucky enough to get an athletic scholarship to Florida State University, but you should not have to be an athlete to get the opportunity of a quality college education in this country.
"On June 1, 1875, an article in the New York Times ran under the headline “The Expense of College Education”.
"Apparently, the writer was beside themselves because parents back then were paying more in one year for their kids than four years of their own college education costs.
"Folks – it’s 2019. More than 140 years later, we still have not solved the problem.
"We are still hitting our heads on the same issue and building towards an avoidable crisis that will negatively impact our economy.
"It is immoral for this country to require our citizens to take on tens of thousands of dollars of debt to achieve the American Dream.
"Here are the facts:
"Our education system is a “debt trap” for young Americans that will keep them struggling through their senior years.
"Over 45 million Americans owe more than $1.5 trillion in private and public debt - an amount that doubled in just ten years.
“The average loan for a four-year degree is nearly $30,000.
"Over 2.7 million Americans carry $100,000 in student loan debt.
"This is the second largest pool of consumer debt – second only to housing.
"This isn’t just a young person’s issue. It’s devastating even the young at heart.
"Student loan borrowers over 50 saw their debt increase by $28 billion in just one year.
"These are the facts.
"Now, let’s discuss how we got here.
"The old truth remains that a quality education remains the best path into the middle class and beyond.
"The cost of a college degree has skyrocketed out of control.
"Mostly working class and middle class Americans are in need of student loans due to the lack of family capacity to support continuing their education.
“Many entry level jobs historically require a college degree, barring entry to the job market.
"Many students who take out student loans often have to get a second job and struggle to make ends meet well into their senior years.
"Here’s my plan:
"I believe that Americans deserve a second chance to reach the American Dream.
"Before we can make college affordable for the next generation, we must provide relief to the one-in-four adult Americans now struggling with student loan debt.
"As president, I will push for national student loan debt forgiveness, paid for by repealing the Trump tax cuts for the wealthiest in this country.
"It is time for the federal government to cancel all federal and private student loans.
"The government would purchase student loans held by the private sector or assume responsibility for making payments on these loans.
"The goal is to zero out all student loan debt – regardless of the source.
"For student borrowers, either approach would provide immediate financial relief, freeing up an average $400 a month to spend, save or invest; and allow borrowers to begin building wealth at the same pace as their peers not burdened with student debt.
"Now I know, $1.5 trillion sounds like a daunting amount, but as the research shows, the benefits are significant and would benefit all Americans far more than the Trump tax cuts. It is clear the Trump tax cuts have fallen short, with slowing growth, rising deficits and most of the benefits going to corporations. Repealing this malignant tax cut and using the money to get rid of student debt would help all Americans.
"My plan would:
"Create 1.2 million to 1.5 million jobs over the first few years.
"Reduce the unemployment rate in a meaningful way.
"Add between $800 billion to $1 trillion to the Gross Domestic Product over 10 years time.
"It’s time we boost our economy and give Americans a second chance at the American Dream.
"To be clear, my plan would not only directly boost the economy, it would also help Americans rise across the board:
"Increase the number of new small business formed each year.
"Raise the number of degrees achieved.
"Bring more first-time buyers into the housing market.
"With your help we can put our country on stronger footing and immediately give Americans a second chance at the American Dream.
"Change cannot wait any longer.
"This is not the only crisis on the horizon…
"No issue hits closer to home here in South Florida than gun violence.
"30 minutes from where I stand we have had two mass shootings - Parkland and Fort Lauderdale Airport - within the last two years.
"I have had my own run-in with this new American norm of the threat of gun violence...
"In 2017 [Aventura mall mass shooting scare]...
"Christmas shopping and crowds began to scream and run for cover, police with weapons drawn...
" [I] Took cover in the back with a few store employees, police cleared...
"As a result of Washington’s refusal to address gun violence, here is our new norm:
"58 precious lives taken from us in Las Vegas, 49 lives destroyed at Pulse in Orlando, the 9 brave souls murdered trying to pray in Charleston, the tragedy at the University of Iowa’s Van Halen Hall, and the countless number of victims of gun violence in American streets every day - many whose names we may never know.
"The trauma of this epidemic doesn’t go away when the shooting is over. One student in California survived one mass shooting only to be killed in another one. Here at home, survivor’s remorse claimed the lives of two Parkland shooting survivors, and snatched the life of a father whose daughter was brutally murdered in Sandy Hook.
"How bad could it possibly get?
"When you have 96 people die from gun violence every day in America, and today, as I stand before you, there is no gun reform bill on the President’s desk.
"Washington is broken.
"When you can’t take your family to a movie or drop your child off at school without wondering whether or not it will be the last time that you see them.
"Washington is broken.
"I’m running for President of the United States to change that.
"Here’s my plan:
"When I’m President, it will be the number one priority for my administration to prevent mass shootings.
"I believe law enforcement should remove mass shooting weaponry from the hands of those suffering from mental illness, those who have a history of domestic abuse, and anyone on the terrorist watch list.
"It’s time to stop playing games with American lives.
"We cannot wait to have safe communities and schools.
"It will be my goal as your President to cut gun deaths in half by the end of my first term, with the goal to eliminate this threat entirely by the end of my presidency.
"No half-measures, no tiptoeing in the water.
"If anyone, Republican or Democrat has a plan that would cut gun deaths in half and bring this threat to an end, I urge them to bring that forward and I will support it.
"We’ve been here before.
"In 1985, CEOs of major car companies opposed seat belt laws.
"Why should we expect anything different from big gun manufacturers?
"It’s time we demand action from our government to keep us safe from gun violence and replace politicians if they won’t get to work to make it happen.
"One more child lost to gun violence is one - too - many.
"Change cannot wait to protect our people.
"Of course, we have yet another big challenge on the horizon.
"Today, in 21st Century America, the leaders of the political party in power do not believe in science.
"How bad could it possibly get?
"When you have hurricanes all across this state intensifying and Miami Beach floods when the sun is out due to rising sea levels.
"Washington is broken.
"By the end of this American century, as many as one million Floridians could lose their homes due to climate change and cost the country $120 billion dollars per year in property damages.
"The largest wildfires we have ever seen engulf the state of California in flames and snatched moms and dads, babies and grandparents from their families.
"Yet, all we hear out of Washington are attacks on proponents of the Green New Deal and silence from those with the political power to save lives.Washington is broken.
"I’m running for President of the United States to take direct climate action to change that.
"This is not just a coastal issue.
"Sections of the Midwest would see their ability to produce corn drop by 75% and 25% of soybean crop production could be at risk.
"Even this administration’s own reports say we if we don’t act now, we could have irreversible damage to the air we breathe and the water we drink.
"Change can’t wait.
"I’ve built a construction business overseeing nearly a half a billion dollars in projects and I helped build the greenest school in Florida, so I know how to create jobs taking action to prevent climate change.
"Here’s my plan:
"When I’m President, my administration will make it a priority to lead the world and take bold, direct, climate action that will rival the New Deal in scope, rise to the scale of this challenge, apply the urgency required to get the job done in ten years.
"It’s time we level with the American people.
"We can build the economy and solve the threat of climate change.
"Climate change is not a hoax. It is the premier danger to our very existence and the future of our children and grandchildren.
"We share this planet with every human in the world.
"It is time we live up to being good stewards of our environment.
"We cannot wait to lead the world.
"Change can’t wait.
"Now some of you all may have seen me on Thursday debating with our friends on Fox News about the economy.
"The host of the show repeatedly asked me to pat Trump on the back for the economy
"I refused to do so.
"Here’s why:
"When you have Americans working two and three jobs to make ends meet…Washington is broken.
"When senior citizens can’t afford life saving medicine...
"Washington is broken.
"When big corporations take large tax cuts and refuse to provide a living wage for their workers...
"Washington is broken.
"Let me tell you about my record as a Mayor.
"There is a company headquarted in my city of Miramar called JL Audio...[They] manufacture speakers.
"They had a manufacturing site in China, and wanted to expand marine division. They had a choice to create more jobs in China or my city.
"As Mayor, I worked with Republicans and Democrats to fought get those jobs back into the United States.
"In just 2 short years, they doubled their workforce in my city.
"This story is proof that not only can we beat out China to create jobs here in America, but we can do this all over the nation.
"And if you give me the opportunity to serve as your President, we will.
"The challenge is larger than just the fight to create American jobs.
"Recently, The Chinese Communist Party published a manifesto of ambition on the front page of a daily newspaper. It read - and I quote:
"The world needs China, as all humans are living in a community with a shared future ... That creates broad strategic room for our efforts to uphold peace and development - and gain an advantage.”
"Meanwhile, we never know if the United States government is shutdown or open for business.
"I’m running for President, because the time to live up to our potential is now, not tomorrow.
"The future is happening every day and we are ill-prepared.
"It should be illegal to shut down the government and hurt American workers and families.
"Under my administration we would bring unnecessary uncertainty for American workers and businesses to an end.
"Four years ago, the president inherited the Obama economy with historic growth from the depths of a recession.
"Nearly years later, this administration has done next to nothing to prepare us for the future.
"All the while, reports surface that scientists in China created the first gene-edited babies, a process that challenges the moral and ethical leadership of the world.
"Instead of preparing us for the future, they decided to give millions in tax breaks to big corporations, who then turned around and cut jobs and laid off workers.
"When I’m President, repealing the Trump tax breaks for the wealthy will be on the top of my agenda.
"I’ve built a small business, and as Mayor, overseen one of the fastest growing economies in the nation. I know how to create jobs.
"It’s time we had a President who invests in training the entrepreneurs of today and tomorrow.
"The future holds an economy where every American is able to take his or her talent directly to market.
"We have seen the rise of ride sharing and home sharing, cryptocurrency and digital collectibles, yet we still train our workforce for jobs that will be replaced by artificial intelligence.
"When I’m President, we will establish an economic plan to soften the blow of the coming tech advancements on working and middle class Americans.
"And we will encourage young people to start their own businesses as a pathway to success and alternative to college.
"We should not just stand by while manufacturing jobs leave this country, leaving Americans holding empty promises.
"I have helped pass a living wage for workers, fought to attract high paying jobs for Floridians, and created jobs myself.
"Democrats don’t need to be lectured on the economy when Democratic presidents oversee stronger job growth than Republican presidents.
"Here’s my plan:
"When I’m President, any American who wants a job will be able to get it and it will be a federal priority to put Americans to work in high paying jobs, with flexible benefits so they can spend more time with their family and friends.
"Success in the future means encouraging “smart work”.
"Let’s bring back the creative American spirit.
"Now, we have discussed some of our domestic challenges, but my most important role as your President would be to protect our standing in the world and keep Americans safe.
"I’m running for President, because our role as an honest broker on the world stage has been damaged.
"President Trump befriends our enemies and makes enemies of our friends"
"On that basic principle, the Trump administration is failing to pass the smell test.
"The lack of long term peace and stability in the Middle East, so central to our nation’s security, threatens the safety and security of our men and women around the world, our allies and partners in fighting terror, and our strategic economic interests.
"A major piece of this instability is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Every day this conflict persists is a more dangerous day for American national security.
"Our current failure to play a meaningful role in ending conflicts there is dangerously threatening our moral authority and standing in the world.
"I just recently returned from an independent fact-finding mission to Jerusalem, Ramallah, Hebron, and Tel-Aviv, meeting with top leaders from both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"I met with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, a mayor of one of the largest settlements, and the executive director of B’Tselem - a leading human rights organization.
"I also met with the top negotiator on the Palestinian side who negotiated the Oslo Accords and the first woman elected to the Palestinian National Council.
"After hearing from the stakeholders who would be a part of achieving a two-state solution, I came away convinced that America’s standing is suffering under President Trump.
"The negative impact of this situation can not be overstated.
"We are witnessing the decline of America’s ability to lead in the Middle East.
"When I’m President, we will reverse this decline and restore true American leadership, one that’s rooted in both our values AND our national security interest.
"For the last two years, the Trump administration’s Israeli-Palestinian policy has been led by ideological actors who have taken actions detrimental to American interests in resolving this conflict.
"Based on conversations I held with a wide-ranging and diverse group of Israelis and Palestinians on the breakdown in talks, it became clear that the Trump administration is failing both sides.
"This is not a new conflict, but the moment now is acute. And the Trump Administration is making the situation much worse.
"Instead of rallying our allies to take shared responsibility in resolving the conflict, President Trump’s team has pushed them away by inserting its own hard right radicalism into a conflict fraught with the potential for a religious war.
"This counterproductive approach not only harms the Israelis and Palestinians who both want peace, but it also serves to strengthen murderous extremists, like ISIS, who recruit off our role in this crisis and directly threaten American interests around the world.
"Over and over again, Israeli and Palestinian leaders made clear to me their desire to negotiate directly for peace.
"And it's not just high-profile figures like the Deputy Speaker of the Knesset or the top negotiator for the PLO. It’s also the everyday Israeli and Palestinians - the people I met in Ramallah, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv - who quietly shared their hopes for a two-state resolution and fears of what would happen if the region were to disintegrate into an all-out religious war.
"There was the Israeli cab driver, so overcome with emotion that he had to pull over, swearing his love for his Palestinian neighbors and describing how their families care for each other.
"Then there was the Palestinian shopkeeper, who despite living under harsh conditions in the occupied territories, displayed both compassion and understanding towards Israelis.
"Regular people are suffering and deserve American leadership, not misguided ideology and partisan talking points.
"The actions of the United States in resolving this conflict should not just reflect the interests of a small minority of right-wing, ideological voices.
"As a result of President Trump’s short-sighted thinking, our standing in the world has become diminished.
"Because of the current approach, the Palestinian side has entirely withdrawn from talks and quietly, Israeli officials scoff at the chances for success of the Trump administration's ham-handed approach.
"The next American president must change course and instead serve as an honest broker and a true chief of our national security interests.
"We are not truly secure when our long-time friend and dear ally, Israel, feels threatened to the point of occupying and securing land as a permanent solution, instead of peace.
"We are not secure when the Palestinians - have been fully disenfranchised, undermining effective diplomacy, yet this is what happens when a real estate developer leads an insular negotiations process that prioritizes right-wing voices over all others.
"It is time for America to lead a serious negotiation, not the one we currently have.
"We are not secure when 53 percent of Palestinians live in poverty, including over 400,000 children.
"Unlike President Trump, I have walked the streets of Hebron with a former soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces and visited Ramallah. I have also enjoyed a beautiful meal in Tel Aviv and explored the ancient glory of Jerusalem. The Israeli and Palestinian people still look to us to help them resolve their conflict.
"A restoration of American global leadership will require a restoration of American respect for all people and all faiths.
"We cannot disrespect the humanity of people and expect to be welcomed with open arms due to our military might alone.
"Our true power has always been our tolerance and ability to find alignment with the broader brotherhood and sisterhood of our fellow human beings.
"As your President, I will never lose sight of that fact.
"Every generation gets one moment.
"One moment that defines who we become for centuries.
"This election is our moment.
"What happens in this election will provide a clear window into the soul of our nation.
"Will we fall prey to those who stoke our anger for their political gain?
"Or will we rise to our better angels and restore sanity, empathy, and real American toughness.
"As your President, I will champion change and opportunity for all people, not just the wealthy or well-connected.
"My message to the American people is simple - If you believe change cannot wait another election or another year - I want to be our champion.
"If you believe we should finally forgive student loan debt, if you believe we can take action on climate change on Day One, if you believe that healthcare should be a right, if you believe that military-style weapons have no place on our streets or in our schools, if you are tired of the old ways of doing things, help me take this call for change to the national debate stage right here in Miami in June.
"I’m not backed by big corporate PACs. We won’t have the most big donors, but your $5, your $10, your $20 can change this country for the better.
"Go to wayneforamerica.com and give what you can and I pledge to never give up in this fight.
"Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America."
Town Hall with Kirsten Gillibrand in Concord, New Hampshire on Saturday April , 2019
Concord Town Hall
TBD
Concord, NH 03301
Saturday, Apr 6, 2019 2:15pm–3:30pm EDT
Join Senator Kirsten Gillibrand for a town hall in Concord, where she'll deliver remarks and take questions from New Hampshire voters. Sign up here to be the first to know about the location!
Doors open at 2:15pm and program begins at 2:30pm.
Meet & Greet with Kirsten Gillibrand in Carroll County, New Hampshire on Friday, April 5, 2019
Tamworth, NH 03890
Friday, April 5, 2019 6:30pm–7:30pm EDT
Come meet Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in Carroll County! Sign up here to be the first to know about the location.
Wayne Messam to Launch Presidential Campaign, Plan to Resolve $1.5 Trillion in Student Debt
Miramar, Fla. — On Saturday, March 30, first-generation American, national college football champion, successful climate-conscious business owner and two-term South Florida Mayor Wayne Messam will launch his campaign for President of the United States. Mayor Messam plans to release the details of his first bold idea to resolve the $1.5 trillion in U.S. student loan debt, a bold, unique proposal on a major issue of economic security for over 44 million Americans. The launch will take place at Florida Memorial University, the only Historically Black College and University in South Florida, and be livestreamed for the rest of the nation.
Saturday, March 30, 2019
• WHAT: Wayne for America Presidential Campaign Launch, Student Debt Policy Roll-Out
• WHEN: Doors open for the public at 3:00 PM
• WHERE: Lou Rawls Center for the Performing Arts, Florida Memorial University, 15800 NW 42nd Ave. Miami Gardens, FL 33054
John Delaney Launches Heartland Fair Deal – A Comprehensive Roadmap to Revive Rural America
FRIENDSHIP HEIGHTS, MD – John Delaney announces today the release of his Heartland Fair Deal, a comprehensive roadmap of policy solutions to revive rural America. The Heartland Fair Deal focuses on four areas: 1) Economic Growth 2) Infrastructure 3) Rural Health and 4) Agriculture and includes over 20 new policies.
Delaney calls for a new student loan forgiveness program for people in rural America, new initiatives to encourage entrepreneurship in rural communities, doubling the Earned Income Tax Credit, boosting rural infrastructure, strengthening health care access in rural America, and redesigning anti-trust regulations to address the concentration of power in the agricultural economy. Delaney would also reenter the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Delaney is one of the few 2020 Democrats who supported President Obama on trade.
“America needs the Heartland and the Heartland needs a fair deal,” said Delaney. “We’re a stronger country when rural America is as full of opportunity as our cities. If the American Dream is to be a reality, it needs to be available to everyone, regardless of where they live.
“For decades, while we enacted policies that helped Silicon Valley boom, rural America struggled. There aren’t enough jobs, there isn’t enough infrastructure, there isn’t access to health care, and there aren’t agricultural policies that help family farms. When you talk to people in small towns you hear the same thing: families can’t stay together, young people can’t stay in the places where they grew up. Hundreds of rural counties have a lower population today than they did decades ago. Greene County Iowa, where I campaigned earlier this month, had a significantly larger population in 1880 than it does today,” Delaney added.
“A lot of people in the Heartland put their faith in President Trump, but he hasn’t kept his promises. My plan is designed to allow people to move back to rural America, to start a business in a small town, to end the trade war and give farmers new markets, to boost rural health, and to get more government contracts into rural America.”
In January, Delaney called on his party to reconnect with the Heartland. Delaney has already campaigned in all 99 Iowa Counties and has announced his plan to campaign in all 50 states. Last weekend, Delaney campaigned in southern Idaho.
John Delaney’s Heartland Fair Deal
We have to put policies in place so a kid doesn’t have to move to a big city in order to have a chance for a good job. We need a country where it’s equally likely that a city kid moves to rural America for a job as vice versa.
Economic Growth: Investment has been concentrated in a small number of cities and rural America has been left behind. Reversing this trend requires investment.
Student loan forgiveness for people that live and work in these communities for 10 years
Priority in government contracting to companies with a majority of employees in rural counties
Fix opportunity zone legislation to focus more on operating businesses, rather than investing in real estate
Double the EITC
Incentivize companies to build negative emission technology in rural America and coal country
Create new SBIC and SBA Loan programs to encourage entrepreneurship and focus venture capital investment in rural America, particularly agricultural and climate disruptive technologies
Support entrepreneurship in rural communities and mid-sized cities adjacent to rural America
Infrastructure: Rural infrastructure should be world-class. Rural America deserves clean water, high-speed broadband, and safe bridges and roads.
Create an Infrastructure Bank and increase funding to the Highway Trust Fund
Focus on climate resiliency and flooding
Rural Health: There shouldn’t be health disparities and doctor shortages in rural America.
Universal health care coverage
Create incentives for doctors and other health care professionals to move to and serve rural communities
Expand scope of practice up to the level of training for health care professionals
Better integrate physical and mental health care and guarantee parity for mental health care
Expand and invest in tele-health, including investments in broadband
Invest in Community Health Centers
Ensure rural communities have access to high quality, affordable substance use disorder treatments
Strengthen access to pre-natal and maternity care in rural communities
Improve access to health care for our veterans living in rural communities
Support Agriculture: U.S. agriculture feeds our country and much of the world. We have to end the trade wars and expand markets for U.S. agriculture.
Reenter the TPP so we can expand markets in Asia and counter China’s dominance in those markets
Invest in research to help agriculture deal with climate change through better technology and soil management
Expand access and funding for conservation programs
Invest in research to expand bio-based manufacturing opportunities
Redesign anti-trust regulations to address concentration of power in the agriculture economy
