Jan Schakowsky Quotes

One can only presume, despite unequivocal polling to the contrary, that Republicans believe relentlessly attacking womens’ abilities to make their own health care decisions is popular and will help them win elections. I believe it is at their peril that they pursue this anti-women agenda.

Plan Colombia was supposed to reduce Colombia’s cultivation and distribution of drugs by 50 percent, but 6 years and $4.7 billion later, the drug control results are meager at best.

When girls can get an education and women can work and run businesses or even serve as elected officials, the world benefits.

Why did we not know that heads of state were being eavesdropped on, spied on? We are the intelligence committee and we didn’t know that.

Women are the overwhelming majority of the workers providing long-term support to seniors and people with disabilities. As a result, women are the ones most affected by legislative decisions on long-term care.

Ivanka Trump’s declared mission to ’empower women who work’ is a welcome element in the Trump administration. As a woman with a desk in the White House and the founder of an international corporation, she is certainly in a position to improve the wages, safety, and quality of life of working women around the world.

As a Jew I cannot sit idle while genocidal atrocities continue to unfold in Darfur, Sudan.

Workers should not be prevented from bargaining with the companies that help set their wages, benefits, schedules, and workplace conditions.

The truth matters, and despite my objection to the creation of the Select Panel, as its Ranking Member, I will do all I can to ensure that as long at it continues, it will be as fair, transparent and objective as possible.

Working families spend about 90 percent of their income on consumption – buying stuff. The rich spend less than 45 percent.

We should put hardworking families first by voting on legislation to create jobs, raise wages, provide equal pay for women, invest in education, protect voting rights, and pass comprehensive immigration reform.

Obamacare does much more than provide coverage to the previously uninsured – it improves the quality of coverage for all of us. Critical cancer and other health screenings are free. Women and people with disabilities or chronic conditions are no longer charged more – or priced out of the market altogether.

You might not want to go without essential health benefits or lose consumer protections if an insurance company many states away denies your claim or goes belly-up.

Democrats stand ready and willing to work with President Trump to improve upon the ACA – but we will not sit by and watch him sabotage the health care of millions of Americans.

Engaging in diplomacy with Iran and putting an end to their nuclear weapons program was the right thing to do.

For far too long, virtually every time Americans have been asked to make ‘tough choices,’ it has resulted in disproportionate harm for hardworking Americans and retirees.

The District of Columbia has every right to pass their own laws, and House Republicans should stay out of it.

Immigrants are integral to the strength of our nation. They deserve comprehensive reform that will provide a pathway to citizenship and ensure that families aren’t torn apart.

I was born and raised in Rogers Park in Chicago. My father sold furniture, and my mother was a Chicago public school teacher and proud member of the Chicago Teachers Union for decades.

There is no better way to improve wages and working conditions in our country than to support the right to unionize. Throughout our history, unions have improved the lives of millions of American families, grown the middle class, and pushed our economy forward.

In Illinois, we’ve seen job losses from agreements like CAFTA and NAFTA. Those agreements didn’t help American workers – and they haven’t brought improvements to the lives of workers in other countries, either.

Each and every day health centers provide high-quality primary and preventive care to our constituents.

Ensuring that our children have more and better opportunities is the essence of the American dream.

There is greater income inequality in the United States than in any other industrialized country. Yes, the debt is a problem that must be dealt with. To me, however, the disappearing middle class is even worse – bad for our economy and really bad for our democracy.

The Republican ‘Work Harder for Less’ budget leaves more Americans even worse off than they are today. The ‘People’s Budget’ makes the critical investments needed to give the American people exactly what they deserve – economic security and peace of mind – and helps grow our economy from the middle out.

All across this country, undocumented immigrants are living in fear of seeing their families torn apart because of our broken immigration system. Many of those immigrants are children who were brought here at a young age through no fault of their own.

When we know where the hungry, the homeless and the sick exist, then we can help.

I will continue to stand strongly with my fellow House Democrats, with immigration reform advocates and with millions of hard-working, law-abiding families who want simply to remain together and contribute to our great country.

I will continue to work to maintain Planned Parenthood’s ability to provide excellent health care to millions of women.

There is a lot that happens around the world we cannot control. We cannot stop earthquakes, we cannot prevent droughts, and we cannot prevent all conflict, but when we know where the hungry, the homeless and the sick exist, then we can help.

The best way to earn a fortune in America is to already have one.

We can afford to pay workers fairly, and it is the right thing to do. We also need equal pay for equal work.

In conflict zones in particular, we need personnel who wear the badge of the United States, are a part of our official military command, and are always held accountable for their actions.

We need a vibrant Medicaid program and strategies to expand affordable access to health care for all, especially for the specialty care services that community health centers do not provide.

As a first generation American myself, I know that comprehensive immigration reform is good for our country. I know it will reduce our deficit, grow our economy, reaffirm our values, advance our ideals, and honor our history as a nation of immigrants.

Fast track is about pushing through the TPP, TTIP and future trade agreements that would massively increase the power of big international corporations and affect the daily lives of Americans.

President Trump proclaimed ‘America First’ from the inauguration stage. As an American Jew and daughter of immigrants, that slogan makes me shiver.

We must organize. We must protest. We must cry out in a loud voice that America needs a raise. We must keep working until workers in this country don’t have to struggle to make ends meet.

Unequal pay exists across most job sectors of our economy, even in nursing.

Three years into the war, tens of thousands of American troops remain targets of a growing Iraqi insurgency.

We must ensure American workers get the long-overdue raise they deserve.

I am a fierce advocate for the economic empowerment of all women. In the Congress, I am one of the leaders of an initiative called ‘When Women Succeed, America Succeeds.’ It is an economic agenda for women aimed at making sure women have equal pay for equal work, paid sick leave, and affordable child care.

Preventing gender-based violence is critical to establishing safe, productive, and healthy workplaces for all.

For far too long, the Republican leadership in Congress has refused to act and pass comprehensive reform fixing our broken immigration system. In light of Republican inaction, I strongly support President Obama’s executive actions on immigration.

Every American must be guaranteed dignity and independence in their retirement.

Through educational programming, Jewish American History Month will help raise the awareness of a people, their history and contributions. It will help combat anti-Semitism, a phenomenon that is on the rise and that unfortunately still exists in our Nation.

The United States and our allies across the world are working every day to fight terrorism. We must continue those efforts, and we must promote peace and freedom.

When my office asked the regional HHS office to participate in an enrollment event – something they routinely have done for previous ACA and Medicare Part D enrollment – they said no. They were prohibited from doing so – under orders from the Trump Administration.

Americans firmly rejected Republican legislative efforts to repeal the ACA – only 17 percent supported it.

As a country, we can make the commitment to provide quality long-term services – so that getting care doesn’t depend on whether you are fortunate enough to have a loved one willing and able to provide it.

Your health benefits are not a gift – you work hard for them every day.

Higher wages for American workers are not just good for American families, they are good for our economy. I will keep fighting for a raise for hard working Americans so our families can afford housing, help their children get a quality education, and secure a good retirement.

Instituting equal pay is especially important because families in our country increasingly rely on women’s wages to make ends meet. When women bring home less money each day, it means they have less for the everyday needs of their families – groceries, rent, child care, and doctors’ visits.

The ‘People’s Budget’ rewards hard work and invests in our country. It ensures that everyone has an opportunity to get a good education, find a good job, live in a safe and secure home, put food on the table, have affordable health care, save for retirement, and maybe have a little left over.

I believe…..this is my final word……I believe that I’m supporting the Constitution of the United States which does not give the right for any individual to own a handgun.

The reality is that life expectancy has not improved for everyone. In fact, in some cases, life expectancy is actually decreasing.

If we can spend over $3 trillion on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, surely we can find the money to meet the long-term needs of our people.

The JCPOA is working – preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. It’s time for the Republicans to start working, too.

In Illinois, community, migrant, homeless and public housing health centers operate 268 primary care sites and serve close to 1 million patients every year.

Hatred, bigotry, and discrimination have no place in our country. We must work hard to make sure that America remains an inclusive and respectful country.

Handcuffing the ability of states and localities to develop clean fuels in the cheapest possible way, using local resources, is not sound or sensible policy.

Americans need access to affordable, reliable health insurance. They want President Trump to take responsibility and work to ensure their continued access to their insurance – creating certainty and affordability, not confusion and chaos.

I will continue to do all that I can to ensure and enhance worker protections, including the right to bargain collectively.

As a first generation Jewish American, I have witnessed firsthand Jewish immigrants who have come to this Nation in order to create a better life for themselves, their families, and future generations.

Without health insurance, getting sick or injured could mean going bankrupt, going without needed care, or even dying needlessly.

Since the Affordable Care Act allows individuals to buy affordable health care coverage on their own, women no longer have to remain in a job just for the health insurance – they can feel free to start their own business or care for a child or elderly parent.

As American Jews and descendants of immigrants, we never forget where our families came from or what members of our community experienced. Because we remember, we look out for those who are freeing persecution, oppression, and danger.

At some point in our life, each of us is very likely to be a care getter or a care giver or both.

We should not wait any longer to ensure that women get the pay they deserve. I will keep fighting for this until we achieve equality. I am very thankful for all those who are already advocating for equal pay, and I hope others will join me in this fight.

No military contractors should have a ‘shoot first’ culture that puts civilians or our brave military service members in danger.

Before Obamacare, only 12% of individual insurance plans covered maternity plans. Even without that important benefit, women were charged up to 48% more than men for the same benefit package.

It is truly appalling for Senator Mark Kirk to equate the Obama Administration’s diplomacy with Nazi appeasement. As a Jewish-American, I am offended.

Our goal should be to, together, to improve Obamacare so that even more people have access to affordable, quality health insurance and services.

Community health centers do a great deal with limited resources. They provide critical medical care services to many who would otherwise have no other place to go or would end up in an emergency room.

20,000 jobs is really not that many jobs.

As grateful as we are for all the work the community health centers do, it is also important that we recognize that they cannot solve the health care crisis facing our Nation by themselves.

Reproductive health decisions should be made by a woman and her doctor. Any efforts to undermine women’s reproductive rights must stop.

President Obama’s executive actions on immigration are designed to temporarily address major flaws in our broken immigration system.

Because the Bush Administration will set no timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, both chambers of Congress acted to make sure our troops will not be left in Iraq indefinitely.

Investing in women at home and abroad strengthens families, uplifts our children, improves health, makes communities and countries more peaceful, and brightens our collective future. Where women have equality, security, and the opportunity to live, work, and prosper, their families and societies are better off.

We were far from rich, but I never remember my parents worrying about money.

And we’ve also had now the speaker of the Parliament in Iraq using blatantly anti-Semitic remarks, saying the Jews and sons of Jews are the problem of all the violence that’s in Iraq.

Food service workers, home care workers, farm workers, and other low-wage workers log long hours. They come home tired after providing services and producing goods that make our country stronger. They deserve fair treatment from their employers, and they deserve a voice in collective bargaining.

Simply raising fuel economy standards for passenger cars and light trucks to 33 miles per gallon would eliminate our oil imports from the Persian Gulf.

My family reached the United States before the Holocaust. Both of my parents emigrated from Russia as young children. My grandparents were fleeing religious persecution and came to America seeking a better life for their family.

I was proud to witness American Jewish organizations found the Save Darfur Coalition in June 2004 to mobilize a coordinated interfaith response to the ongoing humanitarian disaster.

American workers deserve a raise. I fully support the push for $15 an hour and a union. We also must raise wages for low and middle income families.

President Trump ran on protecting U.S. jobs and renegotiating unfair trade policies – those policies strengthen labor laws around the world.

Every year, Planned Parenthood serves three million Americans – men and women – and one in five women will receive care at a Planned Parenthood clinic in her lifetime.

We understand what President Trump means when he talks about taking the country back. He does not see America as a country of people from diverse backgrounds united around values of freedom and respect. In his ‘American carnage’ version of our country, immigrants and refugees are a threat.

The effects of climate change are real and only getting worse. I would like to build on the promises of the Paris Climate Agreement and make our country a global leader on the fight against climate change.

I will continue to push for solutions to eliminate reliance on hired guns to provide security in war zones.

I’ve seen the impact of deportation in my district. It is heartbreaking to see families torn apart for no good reason.