Transcript of Pelosi Remarks on the 50th Anniversary of the War on Poverty
Washington, D.C. – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi delivered the following remarks at a Congressional Black Caucus event marking the 50th Anniversary of President Johnson's 1964 State of the Union address declaring War on Poverty in America:
"Thank you very much, Congresswoman Lee, for your leadership on this issue, for shining a bright light on the issue of poverty in America. What an honor it is to be here with my colleagues, to welcome Linda Johnson-Robb – I call her Linda Byrd because when we were all young she was Linda Byrd – to the Capitol of the United States on this day, 50 years after her father declared an unconditional War on Poverty to address those who were on the ‘outskirts of hope.'
"Because of many of the initiatives that President Johnson put forward, we have a safety net in our country that is very important. Because of those who do not share the value that we have of equal opportunity for all, the disparity of income in our country has been greatly exacerbated. It has worsened since 50 years ago. Forty years ago, the difference between the CEO and the average worker was about 40 times. With productivity increasing, CEO pay increased and worker pay increased – everybody proceeded that way. Now, 50 years later, with CEO pay and worker pay, there is a 350 to 400 times difference. As they say, it's a right angle going in the wrong direction, and therefore we have the challenges that we face.
"Congresswoman Lee has been a champion on focusing on this – not just the challenge it presents, but some initiatives to fight that. And one of them that we have is ‘When Women Succeed, America Succeeds' – raise the minimum wage; equal for equal pay, in terms of pay; paid sick leave; child care, early childhood learning. All of this is important for women in the workplace, and their families – an economic agenda for women and their families.
"I was quite taken by a quote at the time of President Mandela's funeral that we had here. Many of these folks went to South Africa, but for those of us who attended at the Cathedral, the Ambassador from South Africa made a very, very important statement. And among the things he said was about the things we have to fear. He said, one of them ‘is the selfishness that tells us that poverty is because of laziness, disease because of immorality, and violence because of our genes, and that we are not our brother's keeper.' Well, we are. President Johnson led us in that way, in a very strong, forceful way. And do you remember, Linda Byrd, when we had the 100th birthday of your dad, in Statuary Hall? Well, for a couple of days, we were observing what happened during the Johnson administration that was so important. Well, it was important then, and it's important now.
"And again, thank God for the initiatives of the War on Poverty. But also, let's work very hard because we have important work to do. One of the things we can do right off the bat is to pass and extend the unemployment benefits. And we can raise the minimum wage. We can have paid sick leave. We can have universal pre-school and the rest. And we have to create jobs – good paying jobs that make sure all Americans participate in the prosperity of our country. Lyndon Johnson was about opportunity. He was about equal opportunity. That sense of fairness is what America is about. That's what we as Democrats are about. We hope that we can work in a bipartisan way to advance fairness and equal opportunity.
"Again, I thank the Congressional Black Caucus, and Congresswoman Barbara Lee, and Marcia Fudge, the Chair of the Caucus, for bringing us together this morning. Thank you my darlings."
[Applause]