Text of Bill Pascrell's speechI bring you greetings from the 8th Congressional District of New Jersey.
This week we come together, unified in our love for our country determined in our mission to improve our future, inspired by the man we will nominate to be the next President of the United States. This week represents the commitment of our party and our noble mission. Democrats must bring positive change for all Americans. Democrats must make our country safer, stronger and more secure. We need a proven leader who has the experience, knowledge and intellect to navigate the immense challenges of our century. We need John Kerry. His priorities are our priorities. He understands that the most basic responsibility of government is to protect family and country. John Kerry understands that tax cuts for our most fortunate citizens should never come at the expense of police officers on our streets. John Kerry knows that we shouldn't be building fire houses in Iraq while closing them in New York City. First responders should never be last on the list of our priorities. The depth of John Kerry's life experiences helped mold him into the leader that he is today-a leader that will never leave any first responder behind. Our cops, firefighters, and Emergency Medical Technicians desperately need more than pious rhetoric. John Kerry has a concrete plan that will deliver support for all public safety personnel. His plan to hire 100,000 new firefighters will better prepare towns and cities across America. His pledge to restore funding for the C.O.P.S. program will increase police presence in our most vulnerable areas. His plan to finally provide our uniformed personnel with communications equipment to coordinate with each other is absolutely vital. From increased personnel to additional equipment, from advanced training to better coordination among local, state, and federal agencies, John Kerry is focused on the right priorities. We need the strongest person to lead us. We will choose a decorated combat veteran a tough-on-crime prosecutor to make America secure again. I'm proud of John Kerry and our party. And I will be so proud of the great things we will accomplish once we win in November. We will no longer settle-our time has come!
Together, Americans will march forward with John Kerry to create a stronger, safer and more optimistic America for generations to come! Thank you and God bless our great country. |
