Day 3 in Denver
To: POLITICAL EDITORS
Contact: Katie McCormick Lelyveld of the 2008 Democratic National Convention Committee, +1-312-533-1038
Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee Senator Joe Biden, Makes First Major Convention Appearance to Discuss Economic Challenges Facing Women and Families
DENVER, Aug. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Michelle Obama, wife of Democratic Presidential Nominee Senator Barack Obama, and his running mate, Senator Joe Biden, hosted a roundtable discussion with working women from across the country in Denver Tuesday. There, they heard stories of the challenges women face in juggling work and family commitments and discussed the Obama / Biden plans to support working women and their families in the White House.
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Mrs. Obama and Senator Biden were joined by Governor Napolitano from Arizona, Governor Gregoire from Washington and Governor Sebelius from Kansas.
Mrs. Obama began this series of roundtable discussions early in the primary season, to hear firsthand the concerns of women in their communities, and to help communicate Senator Obama’s plan to support America’s families. In discussions across the country, she has shared her perspective on her husband’s background and his approach to making the American dream a reality for hard-working women and their families. She has brought the stories that she has heard back to her husband’s campaign.
"I’ve heard from mothers struggling to make ends meet because their salaries aren’t keeping up with the cost of groceries," Michelle Obama said. "But if they take a second job, they can’t afford the additional cost of childcare. Or the moms who are nervous about taking time from their jobs to care for a sick child. Or the moms-to-be who are scared of getting fired if the boss finds out they’re pregnant. Then there are women who work hard every day doing the same jobs as men, but earning less… These struggles–the struggles of working women and families across America–aren’t new to me or to any of us."
"These have been eight tough years for working women and their families," said Senator Joe Biden. "When Barack Obama is President, we’ll have a leader in the White House who won’t just repair the damage of the last eight years, but will stand with women and help working families on every issue from jobs and wages to health care and retirement savings. The fight for economic fairness is personal to all of us. It’s who we are, and this November we have as clear of a choice as I can remember between the status quo and policies that will move us forward together."
Today, the campaign circulated a 12-page Blueprint for America’s Working Women and Families, detailing the Obama/Biden plan to help women balance work and family, keep themselves and their families healthy, and prosper in a changing economy.
You can read the BlueprintHERE:
http://obama.3cdn.net/2e7cc8323be6bb7941_pam6bxkpf.pdf.
Mrs. Obama and Senator Biden met with the following women today:
Abby Dart, fromMichigan,is a working mother of five children ages 12 to 21. Her husband passed away four years ago, leaving her the sole parent and wage-earner of the household. Abby considered increasing her employment hours, but she did not want to sacrifice her time with her children. She went to law school, but feels she cannot enter that field because she chooses to dedicate long hours to her family life. Her eldest son, Jack, is enrolled in the University of Michigan.
Abby’s family would receive real relief under the Obama/Biden economic plan in the form of $5,000 in direct tax relief, lower health care costs, and a fairer, simpler tax code. Specifically, she could benefit from about $1,500 in additional child care assistance and $600 in increased pro-work Earned Income Tax Credits under the Obama/Biden expanded program.
Shandra Jackson, from Texas,is a working mother of a 10-year-old son named Ryan. She was diagnosed with an arachnoid cyst in her brain, followed by an aneurysm. Neither of these conditions required surgery, but both added to her financial burdens. She had to make tough decisions about how to pay for her regular medical testing and the cost of child care. For Shandra, time management is a major challenge in juggling work and family responsibilities.
Shandra’s family would receive real relief under the Obama/Biden economic plan – $900 in direct tax relief. Specifically, she would benefit from a $500 "Making Work Pay" tax cut to help cover the rising costs of living, as well as about $400 in additional child care assistance. An Obama/Biden Administration would also provide matching tax credits on the first $1,000 of retirement savings.
Leisha Kiel, from Colorado, is a working mother of a 27-year-old son named Leon. She took a break from higher education when her son was born and worked two jobs to provide for him. Now that Leon has graduated, she has enrolled at the Community College of Aurora and hopes to transfer to the University of Denver to earn her Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration. Although she appreciates the flexibility she has gained by working for the federal government, she cites the benefits as the reason she remains in her position, rather than her professional aspirations.
Under the Obama/Biden plan, Leisha’s family would benefit from nearly $3,500 per year in direct tax relief. Specifically, she would be eligible for a $500 mortgage interest deduction and $2,350 in new tax relief to cover her college tuition. Senators Obama and Biden will enact health care reforms by the end of their first term in office, which will cut medical costs by up to $2,500 for the typical family.
Katherine Marcano, from Iowa,balances being a full-time college student and working to provide for her 17-year-old sister who has cerebral palsy and their mother, who battles a heart condition. She struggles between wading through various bureaucracies to get her family adequate health care, while working to achieve her dream of being the first person in her family to graduate from college.
Under the Obama/Biden plan, Katherine would receive nearly $3,000 in direct tax relief, lower health care costs and a fairer, simpler tax code. Specifically, she would benefit from an annual $500 "Making Work Pay" tax credit to help cover rising costs of living and $2,350 in new tax relief to cover college tuition.
Michelle Obama Remarks
Women’s Economic Roundtable, Democratic National Convention
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
As Prepared For Delivery
We have some of the nation’s top women leaders with us–Governor Chris Gregoire of Washington, Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, and Governor Janet Napolitano of Arizona. Thank you for joining us, Governors.
We have four special guests with us. We’ve asked them to join us because we’re talking about issues that they know very well– because they live these issues every day. They are Abby Dart from Michigan… Shandra Jackson from Texas… Leisha Kiel from Colorado… and, of course, Katherine Marcano from Iowa.
We have one more special guest. He’ll be the only man up here– but he’s famous for being completely at home wherever he goes. I’m delighted to introduce Senator and future Vice President Joe Biden.
Joe is joined today by his wife, Dr. Jill Biden. They’re here because both Joe and Jill care deeply about the issues that we’ll be discussing today–the issues that matter most to women and families.
If there is one thing that I know we can all agree on, it’s that policies that support working women and their families aren’t just political issues. They’re personal.
As Barack and I have traveled around the country for the past nineteen months, we’ve heard so many stories of families trying to hold it together without enough support. I know that Joe and Jill can say the same thing.
We’ve met women like Abby, who has been raising her five kids on her own since her husband passed away nearly four years ago. She went from a two-income, two-parent home to a one-income, one-parent home–overnight.
We’ve met women like Shandra, who has been raising her son while dealing with some serious health problems. Thank goodness, she’s fine now–and she is one of the lucky Americans who has health insurance–but even with insurance, the deductibles and co-pays piled up.
We’ve met women like Leisha, who has a deep commitment to education, but had to drop out of college to support her family. There wasn’t any other way to pay the bills. Now, her son has graduated, and she’s gone back to school herself. It’s taken her more than 20 years to fulfill her dream, but she’s doing it.
And we’ve met women like Katherine, who’s doing everything anyone could expect a young woman to do. She’s putting herself through college. She’s working a full-time job. She takes cares of her younger sister and her mom. And then, this summer, things got even harder, when Iowa was hit by those terrible floods, and Katherine was displaced from her home.
Each of the women up on this stage has a unique story. But all of their stories point to a common trend. Working women are struggling. They are asked to shoulder an enormous burden, but they’re not given enough resources–so all too often, it feels like they’re carrying an impossible load.
The challenges that face working women and families are not new to Barack, and they’re not new to Joe. Both Barack and Joe grew up in families that struggled at times to make ends meet.
Barack was raised by his mother, a young single mom who put herself through school while raising him and his sister. Money was so tight, they occasionally had to get by on food stamps.
Joe’s parents raised four children on one salary in Scranton, Pa. And every night for the 35 years that he’s been a Senator, Joe takes an Amtrak train from Washington back to Wilmington to be with his family. This is a man who knows firsthand how hard it can be to balance work and family.
Both Barack and Joe have both fought on behalf of women as legislators. Barack has led on the fight for equal pay for women. In the U.S. Senate, he has co-sponsored legislation to close the wage gap. Joe Biden has led Congress in the fight against domestic violence, by authoring the Violence Against Women Act.
And as President and Vice President, Barack and Joe will change Washington, so that instead of just talking about family values, we actually have policies that value families. Policies that make it easier for working parents to support, care for, and raise their children. Policies that strengthen the middle class and create new economic opportunities for women and families.
That’s why they’ve created the Obama-Biden Plan to Support Working Women and Families. We’re passing out copies today. This booklet is filled with smart, practical ways that Barack and Joe will help lighten the load that working women carry every day.
Here’s one example from the Obama-Biden Plan. Thousands of women don’t have family leave at their jobs. Many women who do have family leave can’t afford to take it, because it’s not paid. And 22 million working women don’t have a single paid sick day.
The Obama-Biden Plan will expand the Family and Medical Leave Act, so that millions of additionalAmericans will be able to take time off to care for a baby, or an elderly parent. And the Obama- Biden plan will require employers to provide all their workers with at least seven paid sick days a year.
I urge you to read through the Obama-Biden Plan, and let us know what you think. And thank you again for joining us today, to talk about these issues that have such an enormous impact on the lives of women and children across the country.
Now I’ll turn the microphone over to my friend, Joe Biden.
SOURCE 2008 Democratic National Convention Committee
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