Larson grateful for elevation to chairman of House Democratic Caucus

Press release from U.S. Rep. John Larson, the congressman who represents Bristol:
Larson Remarks Following Dem Caucus Chair Election
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman John B. Larson (CT-01) made the following remarks to his colleagues after being elected Chairman of Democratic Caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives. Remarks as prepared for delivery.
My colleagues, we are in the midst of two wars and a global economic crisis of enormous proportion and consequence. We are in uncharted and troubled waters. Your campaign victories have brought about the change that the people were seeking, the hope for a new direction and a better day. We are counting the days until the Obama Administration officially begins, and the anticipated relief can commence.
President Roosevelt informed another generation of Americans, deep in the Depression, with the winds of war on the horizon, that they had a, “Rendezvous with Destiny.” This is not 1933 but the analogies to that time are striking.
What this Congress and this Caucus face is a different rendezvous. We have a rendezvous with reality… the harsh reality that Americans struggle with daily: the daunting reality of foreclosure, job loss, soaring costs in health care, energy, and education. That reality is written on your faces and carried in your hearts.
This is not a time for the faint of heart, it is the time to seize the day, seize this crisis and turn it into opportunity for our nation’s people. Whether you have served here for 10 years or are a freshman, this is our moment -- our time to move a nation. Our legacy is aligned with a transformational president and people who are counting on us to be the difference in their lives.
We do not shrink from this responsibility, we welcome it.
Like Roosevelt, we need to find the Warm Courage of National Unity. So, how do we achieve it?
The Speaker often says we have the most talented and diverse group of members ever assembled in the United States Congress. My job is to shine the spotlight on that talent and diversity. And, by listening and leveling with one another and our people, together we will forge the Warm Courage of Caucus Unity necessary to move our agenda. After all, the change you have been waiting for, the change the American people have called for is you.
So let us go forward from this Caucus, mindful of the realities our fellow Americans face and resolved that our collective effort will both heal a nation, and return it to prosperity and peace.
I thank you for your support and will ask often for your help.
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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
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