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Hillary Clinton knows, as I did know, as my women members know - that a woman being elected to a position, it's not about what it means to that woman. It's not about what it means to Hillary to be the first president. It's about what it means to all of the women in America, that a woman has broken the ultimate marble ceiling and that anything is possible for them and their daughters - and their sons. It's about sons, too.
We had early on women having the right to vote, then women in the workforce during WWII, just going back in history, and then we had the higher education of women, and then women more fully participating in the economy and in business, the professions, education, you name the subject... but the missing link has always been: is there quality, affordable healthcare for all women, regardless of what their family situation might be?
Students will want to address the issues that they have a passion for, but I think that the challenge to this generation is the challenge of the climate crisis. Young people bring more enthusiasm, knowledge and sense of urgency on that issue. This is as planet they will inherit, they have a responsibility for it as well, and part of that responsibility is to urge people in power to make the right decisions about how we go forward.
For three decades, Senator Arlen Specter served the people of Pennsylvania with independence, toughness, determination and an unflinching devotion to the best interests of his constituents and our country. From the committee room to the Senate chamber, Senator Specter offered a voice of reason and passion in every debate - always willing to reach across the aisle and work across party lines to get the job done, regardless of political gamesmanship or gain.
I come to this debate, Mr. Speaker, as one at the end of 10 years in office on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, where stopping the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction was one of my top priorities. I applaud the President on focusing on this issue and on taking the lead to disarm Saddam Hussein... Others have talked about this threat that is posed by Saddam Hussein. Yes, he has chemical weapons, he has biological weapons, he is trying to get nuclear weapons.
I don't reject the concept of preemptive war. I'm a mother of five. I have five grandchildren. And I always say: Think of a lioness. Think of a mother bear. You come anywhere near our cubs, you're dead. And so, in terms of any threat to our country, people have to know we'll be there to preemptively strike. But what the president [Bush] did was, on the basis of no real intelligence for an imminent threat to our country, chose to go into a war for reasons that are still unknown to us.
Furthermore, we believe that health care reform, again I said at the beginning of my remarks, that we sent the three pillars that the President's economic stabilization and job creation initiatives were education and innovation - innovation begins in the classroom - clean energy and climate, addressing the climate issues in an innovative way to keep us number one and competitive in the world with the new technology, and the third, first among equals I may say, is health care, health insurance reform.
I specially want to have young women not to wait as I did until my children were grown, but young women to come in to gain their seniority so they could be respected leaders at a much earlier age. It's important for all women to see young women who share their experience whether it's as a working mom with young children, who understands the struggle and the aspirations of young women in a similar situation. And if they don't have family and they're pursuing their career women should see that as well.
My evaluation of President George W. Bush is nothing personal. He's a lovely person. Sadly, I believe he will be remembered for taking us into war unnecessarily at the cost of thousands of American lives, injuries to tens of thousands of our troops, and trillions of dollars to our economy - enormous costs to our reputation, and undermining the capability of our military to protect us. That, I think, will be the overwhelming issue for which his presidency will be remembered: extensive damage to our country.
I'm always touched when I go to events and stuff, to meet fathers who come up to me and thank me and say, "because of you my young daughter knows that she can do anything she sets out to do." And the way young girls are raised now, I don't think there's any doubt that they know they can do anything. And if what goes by the by is that they don't feel they have to be in solidarity with all other women, that's O.K. as long as they know that that strength has been there in the past and can be there in the future for them.
I do trust that the president is sincere in understanding that the public supports - that overwhelmingly the public supports - not sending these young people back. It was interpreted by some that we had a deal on the deal. But that wasn't on the package. We had an agreement to move forward, in our view, with the DREAM Act as a basis for how we protect the DREAMers and for further discussions on what provisions relating to the border might be in an accompanying bill or whatever as we go forward. So I trust the president in that regard.
There are the fundamental core values of the Democratic Party, which is to work to grow the economy, to create jobs, to encourage small business, to encourage ownership, to expand access to quality health care, to enhance opportunity by making higher education more affordable to American's young people, to have our children live in safe neighborhoods, drug-free, crime-free, and a safe and clean environment, first and foremost to provide for the national defense, to protect and defend the American people, and to have accountability for our budget and for our spending.