Webb Urges Congress, Administration: "Speak Up for the People Doing the Hard Jobs of this Society"

Senator Faults Temporary Worker Programs, Extended Deployments for Troops, Rising Gas Prices for Hard-Working Americans

Washington, DC - Senator Jim Webb took to the Senate Floor today to urge his Senate colleagues and the Bush administration to start speaking up for the men and women who do the "hard jobs" of our society, including workers struggling to stay above the waterline, our overseas troops who continue to see longer deployments, and Americans who continue to pay progressively more at the gas pumps.

Senator Webb has long argued that we should recapture a "Jacksonian" style democracy, whereby the health of our society is measured not at its apex, but at its base.

Below are excerpts of the Senator's floor speech.

On Temporary Guest Worker Programs:

"I just don't see enough people who are willing to stand up and speak on behalf of the people who are doing the hard jobs of this society. We can talk about all the benefits of different portions of this bill, but at the same time, we're faced with a set of realities here, not only with respect to the American workers, but, in a broader sense, with respect to the people in this country who are having to do the hard work of our society. Who's speaking for them?" "I support in many ways the move toward giving permanent status to people who have come to this country illegally, who have put down roots and who want to move into the mainstream of our society. But this particular portion of this bill is not designed to do that. It's designed to increase the difficulties that we already have, it's not a compromise. It's a fabrication."

For audio of these remarks, please visit: http://demradio.senate.gov/actualities/webb/webb070522_guest_worker.mp3

On Extended Deployments for our Troops:

"There are precious few people here in the United States Congress who are aware in a measurable way of what we are doing to the well being of the ground troops that are having to go back gain and again. If this is a conflict that is requiring that sort of commitment on the ground, then why isn't the Administration talking differently about the number of troops that it needs? Because the people who volunteered to go in the military are supposed to go again and again and do their duty, while there are people on their third and fourth tours. I put in a bill along with Senator Hagel that would say you can't send anybody back to Iraq until they've been home as long as they've been gone. That, to me, is common sense."

For audio of these remarks, please visit: http://demradio.senate.gov/actualities/webb/webb070522_troops.mp3

On Rising Gas Prices:

"We're going to get a vote on the Attorney General, apparently, a no-confidence vote. How about getting a vote on how the American people are getting ripped off at the pump? Those things can be documented. You can have all the economic theories in the world about why these gas prices are going up. Gas was $24 a barrel when we went into Iraq. It's now close to $70. The people who are making money off of that, are making money largely because of our foreign policy."

For audio of these remarks, please visit: http://demradio.senate.gov/actualities/webb/webb070522_gas_prices.mp3 

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