as tomorrow you continue your discussions on the debt ceiling.
They were spoken many years ago by one of your predecessors, at his second Inaugural, on January 20, 1937.
The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.
He wrote in a time of great sorrow, having said shortly before those words
I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished.
More than 20% of our school children live in need. Food banks have empty shelves. The social safety net of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and food support programs are all that sustain many of our people, and give others hope that they can get through the hard times so many now experience, as states and local governments lay off employees, and the people lose the government services that are so necessary.
Please, remember those wise words of your predecessor, so that we do not move back in the direction of a major part of our nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished.
Please, remember ALL of us, not just those who already have power and wealth and are secure.
So let me repeat those words of FDR one more time: The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.