Dear Paul, Senator Edwards has been quite busy and we wanted to let you know about some of the things he's been up to! Recently, he delivered a very well-received speech to the Center for American Progress in which he laid out his plan for fighting poverty in America, and this past week he traveled to Moscow on behalf of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Sen. Edwards and the Hon. Jack Kemp (Red Square in Moscow)
Mark Your Calendars!Senator Edwards will be on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart Wednesday, October 5.Harkin Steak Fry VideoClick here to see the video of Senator Edwards' remarks at Senator Tom Harkin's Steak Fry in Iowa.PodcastPlease remember to submit your questions for the upcoming podcast, which will be released next week.Book ClubWe will begin the next book in October. Stay tuned! The Council on Foreign Relations Task Force on US-Russia Relations Senator Edwards serves as Co-Chairman of the bipartisan Council on Foreign Relations Task Force, which assesses the relationship between the U.S. and Russia. His co-chair on the task force is former Congressman and Housing Secretary Jack Kemp, who joined Senator Edwards on the trip. In Moscow the two of them met with an array of officials and experts - including Kremlin officials, Russian Duma (parliament) members, business leaders, NGO experts and activists, and journalists - and they also had a chance to meet some Russians as they walked through Moscow (Senator Edwards says that the traffic there is so unbearable that they found it easier to walk to many of their meetings). Now that he's back, he and Mr. Kemp are preparing to convey their findings to the task force, which will in turn issue a formal report suggesting specific, bipartisan policies for improving our relationship with Russia. Senator Edwards says during his trip he heard many things that left him with a deep sense of possibility for this relationship, but he also feels that he has a greater appreciation of the challenges that he and the other members of the task force will face as they try to improve that relationship. We'll be hearing more about the task force and its findings next year, when the official report is published. Click here to learn more about the Council Task Force on Russian-American Relations.
Sen. Edwards Speaks at Center for American Progress
Don't miss Thomas Oliphant's column about Senator Edwards. Restoring the American Dream On Monday September 21st, before leaving for Russia, Senator Edwards spoke at the Center for American Progress. He discussed the widespread poverty exposed by Hurricane Katrina, and he proposed steps that we as a nation can take to combat poverty in the Gulf Coast and across the country.Download the MP3 of the speech, read the speech, or watch the video. A key part of Senator Edwards' plan is the New America Initiative. It's modeled after FDR's WPA program, which employed millions of Americans during the Great Depression. Through the New America Initiative, residents of the Gulf Coast region would rebuild their communities with the help of the government, nonprofit organizations, unions, and private businesses. This concerted effort would restore the region, and it would provide the residents with good-paying jobs and benefits. In addition, the residents would develop valuable work skills that would enable them to get good-paying jobs in the future. This initiative could not only get the region and its people back on their feet; it could make life better than it was before for the thousands of Gulf Coast residents who were living and working in poverty before Katrina struck. To convince the President and leaders in Congress that this initiative must be implemented, the call for it must be loud and continuous. Thousands have already joined in. Please add your voice to this call. Thank you for your support! And if you haven't already, please visit our web site. There you will find regular updates on Senator Edwards and the issues he's tackling, and you can also participate on our Blog, which is frequently updated with new threads and content. Check it out!