New Democrat Coalition Chair Kilmer Welcome Address for 116th Congress
New Democrat Coalition Chair Derek Kilmer (WA-06) delivers a welcome address for the 116th Congress.
"Now at more than 100 members strong, we are pushing to look at old problems through a new lens for our party and our country. One that says we’ve got to focus like a laser on growing the pie and growing jobs in urban, suburban, and rural America." – New Democrat Coalition Chair Derek Kilmer on Chairing the Coalition in the 116th Congress
Video of the address can be viewed on Facebook and Twitter.
Below is a full transcript of the address:
Hi, I’m Congressman Derek Kilmer from Washington’s Sixth District and I’m so excited to Chair the New Democrat Coalition in the 116th Congress.
Now at more than 100 members strong, the New Democrats will continue to push Congress to look at old problems through a new lens. Our members are our strength. We’ve got veterans and national security experts. We’ve got law enforcement leaders and state and local electeds. Techies and entrepreneurs, we’ve got a good chunk of lawyers, but we’ve got an NFL linebacker. We’ve got moms and dads, and the common denominator between every person in the coalition is that we’re here to create more economic opportunities for more people in more places.
Now part of the reason we’re the New Dems is because we are pushing to look at old problems through a new lens for our party and our country. One that says we’ve got to focus like a laser on growing the pie, growing jobs in urban, suburban, and rural America.
On innovation and opportunity creation, one that doesn’t say that government is the problem or that government is the solution to all problems. An approach that says let’s make government work better, let’s push for outcomes, let’s reinvent government. That’s why we’re New Dems! One that says we can have a smarter approach to infrastructure investments, to making healthcare work better, to funding national research, to educating our kids.
Now doing those things is important, but it’s going to be hard. But I’ve got so much faith in our coalition to have an impact on these issues in part because we’ve done it before. The last time we were in the majority, the New Dems did the hard but important work on the Dodd Frank financial reforms and on the passage of the Affordable Care Act, and we’re poised to have that impact again. And when we do this group is going to make clear that we are here to govern and legislate and make people’s lives better, not just investigate. We’re going to make clear that every person in America should have the chance to learn new skills and land great jobs. We’re going to make clear that the antidote to chaos and dysfunction is competence and results. But listen we’ve got more to do. The work that the coalition does over this next couple of years will be central to that, and every person in our coalition has something to contribute to that effort.
Listen I’m fired up, and to everybody watching this we look forward to your ideas and your partnership.
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