FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 05, 2003

CONTACT: Brendan Daly (202)225-0100

Pelosi Address to the Association for a Better New York

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi addressed the Association for a Better New York this morning. Below are her remarks:

"Bill Rudin, thank you so much – for your warm introduction, for your leadership in this magnificent city, and for your chairmanship of ABNY. Bill, Ophelia, Jack, everyone who loves New York owes the Rudin family a debt of gratitude.

"Members of the Steering Committee and the Board, and all the members of ABNY.

"I am honored to be joined by two of my daughters, Christine and Alexandra, and by so many distinguished guests: Former Mayor David Dinkins; former Senator Bob Kerrey, now President of the New School University; former House Democratic Whip John Brademus, now President Emeritus of New York University; and my good friend Ed Malloy, President of the Building and Trades Council of New York.

"And I’m especially grateful that to have several of my outstanding House colleagues from New York here today: dean of the delegation, Charles Rangel, Nydia Velazquez, Jerrold Nadler, Anthony Weiner, and Joseph Crowley.

"I came here today to say thank you to New York, thank you for sending to Washington that magnificent Democratic delegation to the Congress of the United States, including your superb senior Senator Chuck Schumer to your magnificent junior Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"It is always wonderful to be in New York, a city that holds a very special place in my heart. My husband and I lived here when we were newlyweds in the 1960s. Four of our five children were born in Manhattan. My daughter Alexandra, who is here today, lives and works here.

"New York is a magnet, drawing people – young, ambitious, creative, energetic people – from across the country and around the world. They come looking for opportunity, seeking freedom, in search of a dream.

"And the city they built, that you built – the epicenter of world commerce, culture, academia and the arts – is unlike any other. There are other great international cities around the world. But there is only one New York.

"As Duke Ellington once said: 'The whole world revolves around New York.'

"Before September 11th, you showed America how to build, how to imagine, how to live together and become 'one from many.' So it is no wonder that when those who wanted to hurt America would strike New York, the very symbol and spirit of America.

"After September 11th, New York showed us how to be brave and courageous with strength and grace – the true definition of heroism.

"And since that day, you have shown America how to recover and rebuild so that we are even stronger than before.

"I commend ABNY for all your work to rebuild Lower Manhattan. And I pledge to you today: As we have since September 11th, as Democrats in Congress – led by your great delegation – will work to give New York the help you need.

"To give your firefighters, police and emergency medical workers the funding, the training and the equipment they so desperately need to protect your communities from the threat of terrorism.

"And to make sure New York gets its fair share from the federal government, including funding for a project close the heart of my good friend Jerry Nadler, the Cross Harbor Rail Freight Tunnel that keeps New York competitive.

"The sacrifice of the heroes of September 11th and the service of our courageous men and women in uniform in Iraq remind the entire nation of our mission – to build a future worthy of their sacrifice.

"New York will lead the way in building that future.

"The poet, Shelley, once wrote that the greatest force for moral good is imagination. With the challenges ahead, we will need all of the imagination we can muster.

"And New York will lead the way in ensuring a strong and prosperous America because it is a city of ideas.

"Let us envision, just for a moment, a society in which the young are educated for productive lives; a society in which comprehensive health care programs have taken away the gnawing fear that now afflicts millions of Americans regarding their health care needs; a society in which decent affordable housing is available for working and middle-income people; a society in which the mentally and emotionally afflicted can find adequate guidance and care.

"In order to achieve that vision, we must regain a proper regard for the interaction and mutual dependence of the public and the private sector.

"That is the lesson that Lew Rudin taught us 30 years ago when he founded ABNY.

"Because he knew something that we must never forget: our cities succeed, our nation succeeds, when all parts of our society – government, business, labor, academia, non-profits, and our civic leaders – work together.

"No one here would ever quarrel with the significance of the private sector in the life of our nation. From private enterprise comes the creation of wealth and jobs.

"And from this creation of wealth and jobs the public treasury is achieved. And because the public treasury is achieved, our nation has the capacity for public action.

"A dysfunctional society, however, inhibits the private sector.

"The private sector cannot succeed when there are not enough well-trained workers available, when millions of American lives are wasted in substance abuse, when de facto poverty becomes the life condition of more than 20 percent of the population. Nor can the private sector deal with such problems -- at least on the scale that is necessary.

"Thus when the public sector -- properly and efficiently -- addresses certain challenges in our society through appropriate public initiatives, it is basically seeking to secure an environment in which the private sector can continue to flourish.

"I see the need for a brand new dialogue between the public and the private sector.

"We ill serve our society when we bash either the public or the private sector, as has been too often the case in recent decades.

"Those of us active in the public sphere must renew our conviction that government is not an end in itself. Government is a means to an end -- the health of the total society.

"On the other hand, the public sector has a special responsibility to protect the unprotected, to care for those who cannot care for themselves, and to ensure the efficiency of the economy through the education and training of a productive workforce.

"It is in this context that we view our responsibilities in Washington. The ongoing budget and tax debate is the arena in which we decide how the public sector can help the private sector through what some are calling a 'jobless recovery,' and get Americans back to work and get this economy moving again.

"How do we do that? We need only look at recent history – to the prosperity of the 1990s. With fiscal discipline and responsible economic policies in Washington, we helped to lay the foundation for success:

"The longest economic expansion in history, with more than 22 million new jobs; the lowest inflation since the 1960s; the lowest unemployment in three decades; and the largest federal surpluses in history.

"What a difference two years makes!

"We have gone from the strongest economy in the nation's entire history to a weak, struggling economy.

"We have gone from historically low unemployment rates to losing 2.6 million jobs – including almost 176,000 in New York City alone – the worst record on jobs of any Administration in Washington in more than half a century.

"And we have seen the largest surplus in history become the largest deficit in history, indebting our children instead of investing in them.

"Now some in Washington, D.C. are suggesting that historic deficits do not matter, that they will be erased by a growing economy. But Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan testified before Congress last week that with a large deficit: 'You will be significantly undercutting the benefits that would be achieved from the tax cuts.'

"So I am sad to say despite the lessons we learned two years ago -- that a huge tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefits the wealthy do not create jobs and grow the economy -- President Bush and Congressional Republicans are trying more of the same.

"They want more massive tax cuts whose impact on the economy the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office – now headed by one of the President’s own former advisors – says is 'not obvious;' indeed, that the resulting downturn in investment would be a drag on the economy.

"More massive tax cuts that the Committee for Economic Development, an independent nonpartisan group of business and civic leaders, calls 'arsenic poisoning for the economy,' which worsens 'a fiscal crisis that threatens our future standard of living.'

"More massive tax cuts opposed by even some Senators in the President’s own party and 400 economists, including 10 Nobel Laureates.

"More massive tax cuts that the President’s own economic advisors admit will not create enough jobs to make up for those lost in the past few months, let alone the past two years.

"Democrats have a better way – a way that works. We have an economic growth plan that is fair, fast acting, and fiscally responsible.

"Our plan is fair. We would distribute tax-relief to all taxpayers, including low and middle-income working families.

"Our plan is fast acting. We would create one million new jobs this year.

"Small businesses, which create two-thirds of new jobs, would receive immediate incentives to boost cash flow, promote capital investment and create jobs now. Our plan would double the investments small businesses can expense, thereby lowering taxes on small businesses and increasing small business investment and creating jobs.

"And our plan is fiscally responsible. It will be largely paid for, and it will be a plan that will have long-term economic growth and stability in it.

"And our plan does something else the President’s plan does not – it helps cash-strapped states such as New York that are struggling with their worst fiscal crises since World War II.

"Our plan includes billions in direct aid to states for Medicaid, homeland security, highway and infrastructure improvements, unemployment benefits and assistance to low-income families.

"The President’s plan offers nothing – not a dime – to help the states. In fact, his plan to cut dividend taxes would make your plight even worse – starving states of tens of billions of dollars in revenues, including depriving New York state of $524 million in revenues.

"That means even higher state and local taxes, and even bigger state and city deficits.

"And that means even more devastating cuts – in Medicaid, public safety, education, and other vital services for our most vulnerable citizens – cuts that New York knows all too well.

"Even worse, the President’s plan explodes the federal deficit by at least $1 trillion over the next decade, creating a dramatic increase in long-term interest rates and a downtown in business investment.

"Americans must understand what this means. The President’s own projections show that the interest we will pay on the national debt will exceed all discretionary spending, foreclosing the opportunity to make critical and necessary investments in the future – in Medicare, in education, in transportation, and in the environment for years to come.

"That is the choice facing the nation.

"We will not move forward as a society by leaving behind our working families.

"We will not grow stronger by ignoring the most vulnerable among us.

"And we will not invest in a better tomorrow for our children by indebting them today.

"Working together, with fiscal sanity in Washington, we can – and we must – build the safe and prosperous America our children deserve.

"Twenty months ago, terrorists bent on destroying our way of life targeted this city because it represents the best of America.

"Thirty years ago, when this city faced another crisis of confidence, a man who loved New York brought together the best this city had to offer.

"Again, I want to salute Lew Rudin and his family for the marvelous legacy of ABNY.

"Thank you for the opportunity to join you today. Thank you for all you do to make this city the pride of the nation.

"God bless you. God bless New York. And God bless the United States of America."

“ Democrats are united in presenting a New Direction for America, one that will make our nation as strong as its people, one that brings opportunity, security, and prosperity to all Americans. ”

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi