(Oakland, CA)  –  Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) released the following statement on the results of yesterday’s election:

“After six years of one party rule in Washington, the American people cast a definitive vote against the Bush administration, the war in Iraq and the corrupt Republican Congress, voting to send a strong Democratic majority to the House, and likely changing control of the Senate.  It was an emphatic vote for a new direction.

“Nowhere was public sentiment clearer than in the resounding rejection of the Bush administration’s war of choice in Iraq and the stubborn refusal to change their ‘stay the course’ policy despite its evident failure.  As a cofounder of the Out-of-Iraq Caucus and someone who opposed this war from the start, I have worked with many of my colleagues to change the direction of our Iraq policy and bring our troops home, and I see this election as a vindication of our work.  I hope this election will mark a turning point and that other members of Congress will continue to join us in working together as a nation to change the Bush administration’s failed policy in Iraq and begin to restore our nation’s credibility in the world.

“We are also bringing back oversight and accountability.  This new Democratic Congress will restore a proper constitutional balance of powers between the executive and legislative branches by undertaking the type of oversight that was abandoned over the past six years by the Republican majority. The administration will now have to answer some tough questions on its rush to war, its failed arms control and broader foreign policies, its abuse of our constitutional rights, and its failed economic and budgetary policies.

“It is important to recognize that this was not just a vote against George Bush and the Republican Congress, it was a vote for a Democratic agenda that is rooted in progressive values. In just the first 100 hours, we will be uniting behind Leader Pelosi to move a legislative agenda designed to address real issues that impact Americans.

“We have a lot of work to do.  Hurricane Katrina was a stark reminder of the failure of our government to address the challenges of inequality and poverty that still confront our nation, and as Co-Chair of the Progressive Caucus and an officer of the Congressional Black Caucus, I believe that helping Katrina survivors return home and rebuild their community and their lives and insisting on a national plan to eradicate poverty are a critical part of restoring America’s faith in government and creating a government that works for all Americans, not just the privileged few.”

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