/EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UPON DELIVERY OF SPEECH, SCHEDULED FOR BETWEEN 9:00 - 11:00 P.M. TODAY, JULY 26/ /ADVANCE/ BOSTON, July 26 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is a transcript of a speech by the Honorable Stephanie Tubbs Jones, U.S. House of Representatives, Ohio, Monday, July 26, 2004: Thank you, my fellow Democrats, my fellow Ohioans, and the dynamic Democrats from the 11th Congressional district of Ohio for that warm welcome. Twenty-eight years ago, on a night not unlike tonight, history was made when Barbara Jordan, the first African-American woman to represent Texas in the United States Congress, gave the keynote address at our party's Convention. It is because of the courage and hard work of people like Barbara Jordan and of so many in this hall tonight, that I, too, have had the opportunity to make history as the first African-American woman to serve on the Ways and Means Committee of the United States Congress. And this week, every one in this hall will make history when we nominate the next president of the United States -- John Kerry. Although it has been almost three decades since Barbara Jordan's keynote address was delivered, her words that night still ring true today: We are a people trying not only to solve the problems of the present, but we are attempting on a larger scale to fulfill the promise of America. My friends, to fulfill the promise of America, we must make America stronger at home and respected in the world. We must make the American dream a reality for all Americans. We must elect John Kerry and John Edwards to lead the charge. There are some who believe that the American dream is limited to those who can lobby for the special tax breaks, limited to those who never sweat their growing health insurance bills and limited to those who can afford expensive vacations overseas to visit the jobs they send there. John Kerry and John Edwards have a different view. They believe in an America where the hopes and dreams of my parents, Andrew and Mary Tubbs, who punched a clock day in and day out -- one as a skycap, the other as a factory worker -- could bring them to the day where they see their daughter serve their hometown of Cleveland as its congresswoman. John Kerry and John Edwards believe in an America where the promise of America is open to all -- no matter who you are or where you come from, as long as you are willing to work hard. These aren't Democratic values. These aren't Republican values. These are American values. Sadly, these are values that this administration has forgotten. On their watch, America has lost 1.8 million jobs, and more than 205,000 of those jobs lost have been in my home state of Ohio. In my hometown of Cleveland, the unemployment rate is over 11 percent, and more than 24,000 workers stand in the unemployment line instead of on a factory line. In our black and Hispanic communities, the unemployment rate is higher, entering into the double digits. Many of those out of work have exhausted their benefits -- benefits the current administration refuses to extend. And for many of those who have gotten jobs, they don't pay enough to lift their families out of poverty. I think I speak for millions of our neighbors when I say: We are tired of seeing American jobs shipped overseas. We are sick and tired of working longer hours and finding it harder and harder to pay the mortgage, cover the cost of childcare, and save for college. We are tired of seeing our hard-earned tax dollars go to haves and have- mores, while the must-haves, could-haves, should-haves, maybes and have-nots have not at all. It's time for a change! It's time for a new leadership! It's time for a new vision! John Kerry and John Edwards believe that America can do better, and that we can get America working again. In a Kerry-Edwards Administration, work will be valued, workers will be respected, and the businesses that invest here at home will be rewarded. John Kerry will jump-start economic growth with a new jobs tax credit to encourage owners of small businesses -- like the small business my late husband, Mervyn Jones, built -- to create jobs now. Instead of lavishing giveaways on companies that ship jobs overseas, John Kerry will close those loopholes once and for all and cut taxes for companies to help them create jobs here at home. He'll enforce trade laws so that there's a level playing field for our workers to compete on and win. And he will always, always defend the right to organize. Let me tell you what our country will look like after four years of a Kerry-Edwards Administration: We'll have 10 million new jobs; a deficit half the size it is now; tax cuts to help those who are struggling to stay in the middle class and struggling to get there pay for things like health care and college tuition; and a minimum wage raised to seven dollars an hour. But more than that, we'll have an America that is stronger, more united and more prepared to seize the promise of the future. In her speech so many years ago, Barbara Jordan observed that: We are a people in a quandary about the present. We are a people in search of our future. We are a people in search of a national community. My friends, the hard-working families of this country deserve a president who will work as hard as they do, who will lead us to that future, who will help us create that community. My fellow Americans, John Kerry is that leader. And with your help and hard work, he will be that President. Thank you. Source: Democratic National Convention Committee CONTACT: Peggy Wilhide of the Democratic National Convention Committee, +1-617-366-3100 Web site: http://www.dems2004.org/