tom daschle

I wanted to post this as a follow-up to Sarah's post earlier this morning, as President Obama's weekly video address hits many of the same themes that former minority leader Tom Daschle discussed at 80 Million Strong.

Right now, it seems that this is the cause of our generation. Thankfully, President Obama seems to understand this.

Below are two videos of a speech Former Minority Leader Tom Daschle made at the 80 Million Strong Summit. I wanted to wait to post this because his speech was so critical to our progress both as a country and as a generation.

Amazingly, Daschle's first comments were about work on the Student VOTER Act complimenting the hard battles fought and saying he believes it MUST pass.

"I congratulate SAVE in particular on the Student VOTER Act. I think its really one of the most critical new opportunities to extend voter rights and voter opportunities to students that we have in the country today, and it ought to pass . . ."

"One important, if not the most important things, is participation. Without participation you don't have democracy. You can't have an effective republic. And so, your presence here, is in essence, in recognition of the critical nature of participation in this republic, and a fundamental part of our democracy."

Part 1

"We must reach the kind of health care other countries have. While this presents opportunities for the 10,000 members of SAVE and certainly for each of you in this room. Opportunities regarding the challenge, and opportunities for your own roles and responsibilities moving forward.

It is no secret that there are 3 fundamental problems with health care. Number one, is access. 50 million people don't have health insurance today, and that is an outrage. 48% of those who have insurance don't have adequate insurance, and because they don't 18,000 Americans die every year for the simple reason that they have either inadequate or no insurance. . . .

We also have a quality problem. Did you know that last year the World Health Organization ranked the United State 37th in world quality? Just below Costa Rica and above Slavonia. We are 31st in life expectancy, 29th in infant mortality, and 24th in overall women's health. 100,000 people die every year because of medical mistakes. 100,000 is almost as much as the largest city in my state. . .

And what's driving this debate more than anything else is the cost problem. We have a cost problem that is effecting everybody in this room and its going to effect you a lot more. When I was born... health care comprised 4% of our GDP. When my children were born, about 25 and 30 years ago, the percentage went from 4% to 8%. And when my grandchildren were born, and I have 4 of them now, it went from 8% to 16%. And when you're my age, its going to be 32% according to the Council of Economic Advisers. . ."

Part 2

As you know, Future Majority is on the Steering Committee of 80 Million Strong. Our National Summit is taking place next Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington, DC. We've got a great group of young leaders coming to DC to bring their ideas and perspectives to bear on the growing youth unemployment crisis (including FM's Sarah Burris). After the Summit, we will be sponsoring a grant summit in Chicago, IL (October, most likely), to fund some of the top legislative ideas and advocacy campaigns that arise from the July 14 and 15 Summit - Karlo

Young Leaders Gaining Support, Creating Ideas for 21st Century Jobs

Washington, D.C. – 80 Million Strong for Young American Jobs, a coalition of 28 national youth organizations, will convene a summit of over 150 young people representing more than 30 states in Washington, D.C. on July 14 &15 in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center.

Summit participants will develop legislative proposals in reaction to the disproportionate effects of the recession on young Americans.

Confirmed speakers include:

• Steny Hoyer, Majority Leader, U.S. Congress
• Tom Daschle, Former Majority Leader, U.S. Senate
• James Clyburn, Majority Whip, U.S. Congress
• Jared Bernstein, Senior Economic Adviser to Vice President Joe Biden
• Van Jones, Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality

Young Americans have been hit hardest by the economic downturn and face an unemployment rate of 17.8%, almost 9 points higher than the national average. College graduates are entering one of the worst job markets in decades with an average $27, 000 dollars of student loan debt and little to no income with which to make payments.

80 Million Strong members will address this crisis head-on at the summit, where diverse young people from across the country will discuss the precarious financial health of our generation, propose solutions and package these recommendations into federal legislation. Our goal is to support and inspire entrepreneurship, widen the path from volunteerism to careers in public service, and commit a new generation to a new economy defined by higher education, good health, robust security, and sustainable living. We will leverage our coalition's influential and growing voting bloc to move jobs legislation through Congress, which will serve as a rallying point for us to engage in advocacy and increase civic participation at the grassroots and national level.

For more information please visit our website at http://80millionstrong.org/.

Summit Information:
Tuesday, July 14, 2009 – Conference
Capitol Visitor Center, Rm. 215 A&B
8:30am to 7:00pm

Wednesday, July 15, 2009 – Advocacy Day
Capitol Hill
9:00am to 12:00pm

80 Million Strong Contact Information:

Matthew Segal, Executive Director, Student Association for Voter Empowerment (SAVE), National Co-Chair, 80 Million Strong

847-502-5012