As Tim delivers major speeches throughout his re-election campaign, we’ll archive clips of them in the Video section of this site, and we’ll also reproduce the text of them here.
RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN KICK-OFF
March 24, 2008
Thank you.
I am honored and humbled to have so many of you here tonight. Some are old friends. Some are new. But I welcome you all this evening as we talk about some very important challenges before our communities and our nation.
You know, when I first ran for Congress, I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to work for you and your families -- to strengthen our education and our health care, our energy and our economy, our region and our country. And I wanted to work with you, right here in our community, to ensure both the promises of our past and the possibilities of our future.
You needed a voice, and you wanted results. And over the last five years, I've given you both.
I've worked to bring jobs, investments, and economic development to Southwestern Pennsylvania. I've secured funding for highways and bridges, for police and fire departments, for hospital expansions and new emergency rooms. I've pushed for reforms and accountability in our schools, for increased benefits for our veterans, or the needs of the constituents here in the district whatever they may be. We have seen results -- good results. But we have more to do.
In my office, when someone calls us to ask for help, we never ask what party someone belongs to, or who they supported for President. We help them through the maze of this very big government and all its paperwork and all its regulations. I've always believed that government should act in service to the people. Not the other way around.
I've always believed that those who attempt to pit one person or one family, or one party against the other, solely for the sake of power, in the long run will see nether solutions nor power. It is a fundamental philosophy I have held whether I worked in my practice as a child psychologist, or in my work as your State Senator or as your Congressman. You did not elect me to pick fights for the sake of fights. You elected me to represent you, to study the issues, to make tough decisions from within the arena, not the comfort of an arm chair or the comfort of an opinion poll.
In today's world, we have more than enough people who's only goal is to divide us. Divisive forces from within, and forces from across the sea. We are already a community divided. By hills and rivers. By bridges and valleys. But even beyond those natural boundaries we waste our energy looking for disagreements, by creating problems where there should be none. The hatred spoken in the world of politics both reflects and incites the violence in our streets, violence in our homes, violence in our schools. Listen to what we say to one another, about each other. And then watch those hurtful words repeated on the evening news, on our morning radio. And in the papers.
So we remain caught in the costly web of division. Divided in our school halls, city halls, Halls of Congress. Divided in our state house and worst of all in the houses of our families.
But is it not our responsibility to rise above this? Can we see the spark of hope and faith among us? Can we dare to imagine how great must be the flame?
My goal will always be to work with others who want our nation to be strong: who want our nation to be a world leader in education, in technology, in manufacturing, in innovation. I will work with anyone who wants the same things I want for our families: border security, national security, health security, and economic security.
This election will in large part be about those who are willing and ready and able to get the job done. Not those who constantly harp and criticize but offer no solutions. Not those who call only for change. Not those who only defend the status quo.
We are a nation of greatness. But lately that greatness has been overshadowed by those who want us to apologize for our nation. By those who want only to criticize our nation. I want us to be proud of who we are. Proud of our past, proud of our present, and proud of our future. That greatness is something to be cherished and something that is preserved only if we are determined to make it stronger, better, every day. I'm willing to work with anyone towards those goals. But there are also some areas where I will not compromise.
Let me address three important areas where we cannot afford to yield.
As families go throughout their day, we are taxed with everything we do. From our morning coffee, to our homes, our gasoline, our wages, whatever we do, someone has come up with a tax or regulation on it. Each layer of government from local to county to state to federal takes more and more of your paycheck. Each one claims they need more money for more programs, and that usually means promises of more government and in turn more taxes. Where there are responsible spending and responsible taxes we will not disagree, but where there is excess in one or both, we must draw the line.
Two weeks ago Congress passed a budget, that I opposed, that can only work if we pass the largest tax increase in US History. Is this what we want? Part of the tax increase would require the end of the increased child tax credit. No longer would families get $1,000 credit for each child. Instead it would roll back to only $500. For two years in a row now I offered an amendment to make that child tax credit permanent. In each case it was voted down by the majority. Is that what we want? Does the government know how to spend that money better than mothers and fathers?
I will keep pushing and fighting to keep those taxes down. Especially now when we are so concerend about the economy. Now is when moms and dads need their money to put food on the table, not to send to Washington.
As we speak of the economy and jobs, let's get away from the beltway talk of "gross domestic product" and "trade deficits." Let me address what this all really means right now to families as they gather round their kitchen table.
Families are paying too much for food, too much for their cars, and too much to heat their homes. If we are going to have any hope of making ends meet, of making the drive to work affordable, we must, we MUST address the high costs of energy right here and right now.
We import more and more energy from other countries, even though we have our own. Can you imagine Saudi Arabia or Venezuela not drilling their own oil? Would we have even heard of Hugo Chavez if he and other OPEC nations did not threaten us with withdrawing his oil from the US? But what has Congress done? While in the past year, the cost of oil has risen from $50 a barrrel to over $100 a barrel Congress has embargoed our own oil. Yes, congress has voted -- and I opposed -- to keep us from drilling for oil off the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Gulf coasts, for our two trillion barrels of shale oil in Colorado and in northern Alaska. Has this policy lowered the price of oil?
Congress has voted -- and I opposed -- to increase taxes on our own domestic gasoline refineries, while giving a tax break to OPEC and Venezuela. Has this brought down the price of filling your tank?
Congress has voted -- and I opposed -- to increase the taxes on oil coming out of the Gulf of Mexico. In the meantime, Cuba and China drill closer to our shores than we allow. Has this brought down the price of gasoline?
Of this you can be sure: I will continue to stand up for our nation's energy. We need to be solving our nations energy needs with American energy and American solutions, not sending your paycheck to OPEC. Not sending your income to leaders like Ahmadinejad to build nuclear weapons.
Dealing responsibly with energy also means we need to build energy efficient cars, and renewable energy sources, like solar panels and windmills. We need to stop wasting energy and learn to conserve. But we also need to solve our nation's energy problems with our nation's energy. And much of that energy comes from right here beneath our feet in Pennsylvania: coal.
There are forces in Washington DC who are trying to outlaw us from building more coal plants. We are all concerned about the emissions from the smokestacks in coal plants. But there are two ways to remedy this. One: to shut them down. No emissions. But no electricity. The other way is to clean it up. To build clean coal plants that produce no emissions.
We have 50,000 jobs here in Southwestern Pennsylvania that depend on coal. We have 300 years worth of coal in our nation. For the sake of our air, for the sake of our jobs, for the sake of our region, we need to clean it up, not shut it down.
In this area we should be proud of our Pittsburgh legacy. Of our industries, of our jobs. We cannot to scare tactics that call for shutting us down.
We also have thousands of jobs right here in the nuclear energy industry. We have thousands more jobs working on energy efficiency, hydrogen fuel cells, and other alternative energy sources. Right here we have Westinghouse and CONSOL and the National Energy Technology Laboratories, and Foundation and Bettis and Bechtl and Siemens and Eaton and Curtis Wright and Dozens more companies leading the way with research and development for the energy needs of our future.
Energy is the scientific challenge of our time. Energy is the Apollo project of our generation. And Pittsburgh is Cape Canaveral.
I for one will not yield on pushing for our jobs and our solutions to our nation's energy demands. It is time that we invest in re-building America. To build highways and transportation networks that are safe, that are efficient, and that cut fuel waste. To build the power plants that give us clean and efficient energy that meets the manufacturing needs of our nation
There is one more area tonight that I would like to address. One more area where families worry: the cost of health care.
Knowing all the problems with health care, I believe the last thing we should be doing is having the government take over our health care system. Care should be between a doctor and patient. Whenever the government steps in to pay for this with your tax dollars, the government will also be making decisions about what your care should and should not be.
Do you really want someone in Washington telling you what test and procedures you are permitted? Do you really want more paperwork for your doctor? Do you really want someone telling you how long you have to wait in line for a treatment or surgery?
We need to focus on fixing the system, by cutting the waste out of the system. It is not an acceptable solution to have the government pay for more
waste. In this I will not yield. On this I will not give ground. Even though I am often the only voice, there are too many lives at stake. And I will continue to be that voice that fights for patient safety, patient quality, and patient choice.
I will continue to fight to reduce hospital infections. I will continue to work to eliminate the 90,000 deaths, the 2 million cases and the $50 billion in waste. I will continue to push for your right to know about the safety and quality of your hospital.
Isn't it strange that by law an airline must disclose to you the likelihood of your flight leaving on time. But right now you can't know if you are going to leave the hospital at all?
I will continue to push for more technology for your hospital records, Safe and secure records that keep you from having to have repeated or wasteful tests and procedures. Accurate records that can save your life, by giving the doctor the tools he needs no matter where you are. Accurate records that can save healthcare over $160 billion dollars a year.
I will continue to push for better healthcare and more effective care management that helps the chronically ill. Those chronically ill patients who consume about 70% of our healthcare dollars. And we can save money while we are saving lives by helping doctors have the tools available to follow up with these patients and make sure they are getting the care they need when they need it.
These are areas we can and must push for together. Together. It is time to heal our wounds, to stop the divisiveness and work for the good of our nation and our communities.
We need to see ourselves as One nation. not a divided nation This is not North v. South, Country vs. City, Young vs. Old, Rich vs. Poor, Black vs. White, Red vs. Blue. We are one nation, One nation under God, One nation of Red, White and Blue.
This is a nation of many weaknesses, but many more Strengths. Of many challenges, but many more Solutions, Of many wants, but many more gifts. It is our strengths, our solutions, our gifts which are our blocks to build our community.
Let us resolve to rebuild ourselves: stronger, better. To rededicate our efforts to overcome the differences that divide us, and instead to nurture the common goals that unite us: to grow and reach towards hope.
We have seen anger hurt and kill. But we have also seen love of our nation to do great things. We have all witnessed this greatness when our nation has torn down walls, and built solutions. Let us work for this better future. Let us muster all of our strengths to stand against the oppression of division and anger. Let us work for hope, to let faith be the source of our courage.
To unite in our pledge to work together as one nation, as one indivisible nation, as one nation indivisible under God. And realize that it is only as one nation under God, indivisible, that we may fully discover liberty and justice for all.
We are leaders. On every level. In every job. All of us. And as such we all share the responsibility to unleash the greatness of this town and this nation. To unlock its mysteries, to release its energies, to achieve the greatness that lies within all of us and between all of us, and to open up our hearts to help each other to see the small sparks of that greatness glow into the flame, and light our skies with the fire of our hope once again.
And it is with that hope in our hearts and with our eyes focused on what we need to do that I ask for your support as I announce my bid to run for re-election as your United States Congressman. Together we will bring back the great glory of this great nation.
Thank you, and God bless.
WEB SITE LAUNCH
March 21, 2008
Hello, I'm Congressman Tim Murphy. Welcome to the online headquarters for my 2008 campaign for re-election.
When I first ran for Congress, I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to go to work for you and for your families -- to improve the safety of our health care, the security of our jobs, and the quality of our schools. And I wanted to work with you, right here in the community, to improve our lives, our region, and our country.
You needed a voice, and you wanted results. Over the last five years, I've given you both.
I've worked to bring jobs, investments, and economic development to Southwestern Pennsylvania. I've secured funding for highways and bridges, for police and fire departments, for hospital expansions and new emergency rooms. I've fought for better, more affordable health care, for improvements in patient safety, patient quality, and patient choice.
It hasn't always been easy -- but nothing worthwhile ever is. We've made great strides -- but we still have far to go.
We need to combat rising oil and gas and food prices by taking control of our own energy and revitalizing our own economy. We need to ensure that our region's energy resources are a part of our nation's energy solutions. And we need to keep working to strengthen the security of our jobs, our schools, our health care, and our economy.
Take a look around my site to read more about how I've made a difference during my first few years in office, and about what we still need to do.
Being your Congressman isn't about parties or politics. It's about people. It's not about red or blue. It's about red, white, and blue. It's about all of us. Working together.
In your community, as in your Congress, you should expect those you elect to get to work, not to get caught up in partisan gridlock. While other people are talking about what this party or that candidate is doing, I'm working. While other people are fighting and arguing and putting sound bites on talk radio, I'm working. While people are trying to get your attention, I'll keep working to deserve it. Because I know that everything I do is for you and your family.
You want to know that someone you trust is working for you. And I want you to know that I am, that I have been, and that I always will be working for you.
So please join our team. Find out how you can help right here on our web site.
Together, we can make a difference for our families, and for our future.
