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A True American Hero
This week, we celebrated Cesar Chávez Day – a chance to reflect on how Cesar Chávez made America more fair, more just, and more hopeful. A visionary organizer, Chávez used non-violent activism to lay bare the plight of America's farmworkers – igniting an iconic movement to secure safe working conditions, fair wages, and proper protections for working families. Chávez challenged the nation to take up the cause of justice for working people as a common fight, “for their sakes and for our own.”
Today, we must channel the unyielding spirit of Cesar Chávez as we work to realize our nation's dream of equality and justice for all. We must build an economy that works for everyone, with fair and rising wages and equal pay for equal work. We must stand up for hard-working immigrant families and grow our economy by passingcomprehensive immigration reform. We must fight to guarantee that the voices of all Americans are heard at the ballot box, no matter their race or background.
Each Cesar Chávez Day, we draw fresh inspiration to carry forward the great fight against xenophobia, racism and injustice. His legacy calls on us to recognize that America draws strength from the dreams, aspirations and success of all people across our nation. Let us rededicate ourselves to the life's work of Cesar Chávez: putting the American Dream in reach for all.
 | Nancy Pelosi @NancyPelosi |  | ||
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Bank on Students
Six years ago, House Democrats enacted the largest investment in college aid in our nation's history. The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act dramatically reduced student loan costs, increased the maximum Pell Grant, and strengthened community colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and other Minority Serving Institutions. We empowered more Americans by putting a higher education and the economic opportunity that it provides within reach of their children and themselves.
Nothing returns more to the Treasury than investments in education. Sadly, House Republicans have proposed a'Road to Ruin' budget that threatens to make it harder, not easier, for students to afford higher education. House Democrats continue to work to make college more affordable and accessible by fighting to make two years of community college tuition-free for responsible students, striving to restore year-round Pell Grants, and by championing the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act to help lift the crushing burden of student loan debt that weighs on so many young Americans.
My office recently helped a constituent who was trying to bring her sister to the United States to be with her father who has terminal cancer. The constituent’s sister lives in the Philippines and had applied for a visitor visa over 10 years ago, but was denied the visa. For that reason, she was concerned that she would not be able to obtain a visa when she applied for the second time. My office contacted the U.S. Embassy, providing a copy of the doctor’s letter and conveying the sister’s plans to stay for a short time. After considerable deliberation, the U.S. Embassy granted my constituent’s sister a visitor visa, and she will soon be reunited with her father after many years apart. |
