Initiatives

America faces a time of unique challenge. We are working harder than ever, but too often are struggling to meet the obligations of family and work.

For almost eight years, the Bush administration has moved America in the wrong direction on every front, at home and abroad. It is now up to us to lead, to stand up for our values at home and to restore America's standing around the world. It is time to renew that most basic of American dreams -- that with hard work and determination, anyone can succeed. And we must ensure that our nation once again provides a brighter future for every child.

Over the course of my life, and especially in the last two years, I have met countless people who are counting on us to lead. I have listened to the most heartbreaking stories of struggle and perseverance, of families who can't make ends meet, whose sons and daughters are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, who want to believe their government can work for them again.

I've heard stories of a health care system in crisis. Too many Americans are uninsured, underinsured, or at risk for losing the coverage they have. Too many of us face the prospect of bankruptcy thanks to skyrocketing medical costs. Americans are depending on us to lead the way to universal health care.

I've heard stories of working parents in the "sandwich generation," facing the double responsibility of caring for young children and their own elderly parents. And too often the women who provide the lion's share of that care are working hard for less pay. For every dollar a man earns in the workplace, a woman earns just 77 cents.

Millions of Americans feel as though they're invisible to the policymakers in Washington. But they aren't invisible to me. And these are the priorities I'll continue to fight for every day.

• Quality, affordable health care for every single American. Ensuring that every man, woman, and child in America has health care must be our top priority. Insurers should be rewarded for provided quality, cost-effective care -- not for how well they avoid providing coverage. And by working to prevent and manage chronic conditions, we'll save lives, reduce costs, and make American business more competitive in the global economy.
• Tax relief and affordable choices for long-term care. Let's help those who need long-term care, or do the heroic job of providing care purchase insurance.  And we must make sure to provide our families a choice of the high-quality long-term care insurance options.
• Stronger, expanded family and medical leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was a breakthrough for families as the first national policy to assist working Americans in meeting the dual demands of work and family. Now it is time to do more. We must expand FMLA to include increased family care and turn the federal government into a model pro-family workplace. I have set a goal that all states should adopt family leave programs by 2016.
• Affordable child care. We ask so much of parents, but offer so little help. Let's provide new tax relief to help working people raise their children, and let's restore the Child Care and Development Block Grant.
• An increase in the minimum wage. In 2007, Democrats enacted the first minimum wage increase in ten years, giving millions of workers a long-overdue raise.  Minimum wage earners should not have to wait another ten years to see another pay increase. Furthermore, we should tie the minimum wage to Congressional pay raises. If Congress gets a pay raise, surely we can raise the pay of working families struggling to make ends meet.
• Equal pay. Let's promote a simple principle -- that women should earn equal pay for equal work -- by toughening penalties and enforcing the provisions of the Equal Pay Act.

Working together, we can meet every one of these goals and put our economy back to work for the American family. We can have a government that respects the Constitution and the rule of law; that cherishes the civil rights and liberties of every individual, including a woman's right to choose; and that makes decisions based on evidence and science rather than narrow ideology.

And we can strengthen our national security by once again working with our allies. America must return to a foreign policy that restores our leadership around the world. An integral part of a smart foreign policy is a smart energy policy that protects our environment, produces million of new jobs, and helps us overcome our dependence on foreign oil.

We have a big task ahead of us. But by ensuring America's families are once again the top priority in Washington, we can make our country more secure and more prosperous. Working families do their part, day in and day out, and they are depending on us to address the challenges we face today and build a better future for generations to come.