Call to Action for Young Progressives

“This isn’t a wait until we grow up kind of thing. Our country needs our leadership now.”

On July 8, I had the privilege of attending the Campus Progress National Conference in Washington DC. Together with 1,000 young progressives from across the country, I listened to speeches made by some of our nation’s most inspiring leaders and participated in discussions about my generation’s role in our country’s most progressive battles.

Without a doubt, there are two issues that dominated nearly every conversation – climate change and healthcare. For the millennial generation, these issues are very real. We are, or know someone who is, uninsured. We know that the effects of climate change will begin during our lifetime if we don’t act now. We are ready to get involved and our country’s new leadership is ready for us to play a vital role.

As someone with a vested interest in the ongoing fight to pass a comprehensive climate change bill, I was particularly inspired by Van Jones, author of The Green Collar Economy and Special Advisor on Green Jobs to the White House, and Speaker of House Nancy Pelosi. Both gave significant credit to young people for the passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act in the House and called for our continued action in the Senate debate.

Speaking to crowd of college students and recent graduates, Jones kept his focus mainly on the massive potential for job creation in a clean energy future by saying everything our country can do that will be good for the environment will also be good for jobs. He also called on our generation to unleash our sense of innovation and entrepreneurship.

“We are relying on Barack Obama to get it done, he’s relying on you to get it started.”

Following the House vote on ACES, several articles have be published showcasing the work Speaker Pelosi did to assure at least 218 votes would be cast in support of the bill. With the final vote coming in at 219-212, it is clear that her work was justified.

During her speech, Speaker Pelosi admitted the process of passing legislation can be gruesome because of the significant amount of whipping needed to get the votes, but the end result is worth it.

“A lot of people don’t like to see legislation made…but I’m willing to take the heat if it means we get the bill.”

Other speakers at the conference included Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Center for American Progress President and CEO John Podesta, Daily Show Correspondent John Oliver, and President Bill Clinton. I complied my tweets from the day in a post here and comments about the conference are being added here.