FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 29, 2003

Pelosi: 'This Labor Day, America's Workers Deserve Better'

Washington, D.C. -- House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today in celebration of Labor Day:

"Labor Day is an occasion for remembrance and rededication. We remember the generations before us who struggled and sacrificed so that we might enjoy the quality of life and standard of living we cherish today. And we rededicate ourselves to the values that will ensure these gifts are passed to future generations: hard work, innovation, creativity, energy and determination.

"Sadly, this Labor Day will not be a time of celebration for millions of Americans who are suffering under the relentless assault on working families being waged by President Bush and Republicans in Congress:

• the 9 million unemployed, including the more than three million workers who have lost their job since President Bush took office, the worst record on jobs since Herbert Hoover during the Great Depression;
• the 12 million children of working families, including the 250,000 children of military families, who continue to be denied the expanded child tax credit while the President gives massive tax breaks to millionaires; and,
• All Americans who will pay the price -- in the form of higher interest rates on credit card bills, loans, and mortgages -- because President Bush has turned record surpluses into record deficits.

"America’s hard-working families deserve better. They deserve a President and a Congress who will fight for economic opportunity, fairness and justice; for good jobs with good wages; for the right to organize and form a union; for the right to affordable, quality health care; for the right to a first-rate education; and for equal pay for equal work.

"So on this Labor Day, let us rededicate ourselves to building a country and an economy in which every family realizes the American Dream. America’s working families deserve nothing less."

“ 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