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John, over the holiday break, I was digging through my drawers to look at some old family photos. And this one was too good to keep to myself.
In 2002, I brought my daughter Alexa (Lexi for short) to the Capitol with me for work. She was only four, but already had a better fashion sense than her dad.
Right after this photo was taken, we ran into Nancy Pelosi, who was the minority whip at the time. “This is Nancy Pelosi,” I explained. “She’s our whip. If you don’t vote the way she wants, she has a whip.”
“Don’t tell her that,” Nancy said, then got down on her knees so she was eye level with Alexa and said: “It’s a candy whip. It’s a candy whip.”
(“It’s not a candy whip,” I said to myself.)
Twenty years later, Lexi is working in a talent booking agency in New York City, focused on media, fashion and branding, and her taste is still far better than mine. That much has never changed.
What’s also remained the same since this photo is my fight in Congress. The North Star that has guided me during my time in Congress is what is best for the next generation.
I also want to make my kids proud of what their father did when he had a chance to serve.
That’s why I’ve been on the forefront of the fight for our democracy and protecting the right to vote. The right to vote is foundational — the right upon which all others rest. Destroy the foundation, and the walls of our democracy come crumbling down.
It’s why I’ve put so much focus on fighting climate change and making transformative investments in clean energy and a new green economy. It’s why I am an original co-sponsor of the Green New Deal. If future generations don’t have clean air, clean water, or an inhabitable planet, what’s the point of any of the work we do now?
It’s why I’ve fought for universal health care and for Medicare for All. Too many Americans fall through the cracks, can’t afford quality health care, and face bankruptcy to pay for medical bills. It’s obscene, especially in the wealthiest country in the world.
It’s why I fight for federal student loan forgiveness. Burying our children with generational debt isn’t sustainable or right. It’s preventing young people from buying homes, starting families, and living happy lives. It took me ten years to pay off my student loans, ten years in which they cost more than my rent. And I was one of the lucky ones.
And it’s why I fought so hard to expand the child tax credit, and am fighting to make it permanent. It lifted millions of families out of poverty and cut child poverty in HALF. We have to fight for it.
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Thank you for taking the time to read this very long email, it means a great deal to me. Now let’s keep fighting for our future.
— Adam
