TRIBUTE TO HUGH ESPEY

On 2024-12-20, Senator Bernard Sanders (I-VT) delivered a floor speech titled "TRIBUTE TO HUGH ESPEY" in the Senate. The speech addressed immigration and also covered the economy, taxes. It referenced legislation: S7321.

TRIBUTE TO HUGH ESPEY

Congressional Record, Volume 170 Issue 190 (Friday, December 20, 2024) [Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 190 (Friday, December 20, 2024)] [Senate] [Page S7321] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] TRIBUTE TO HUGH ESPEY Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I rise today to honor Hugh Espey of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement--a friend, fellow champion of the working class, and person who has never been afraid to speak truth to power and challenge the wealthy elite and special interests. I met Hugh in 2014 when I travelled to Iowa to hear from folks in the Midwest about the challenges they were facing and what they wanted to be done about it. And almost immediately, I met a man who had been doing just that for most of his life. You see, Hugh had been with Iowa CCI since 1979 and served as its executive director since 2003. And he has left a mark that deserves recognition. In the heart of our country is a man and a grassroots organization that has been engaging everyday people to stand up to corporate power and right the injustices faced by the working class for 50 years. That is no small feat. When farmers were told to ``get big or get out,'' and tens of thousands across the country, particularly the Midwest, faced foreclosure and immense undue hardship, Hugh Espey and Iowa CCI were there. Working together, they saved numerous family farmers from foreclosure, in part by using a tool passed by this body in the seventies called the Community Reinvestment Act. Hugh and the members of Iowa CCI showed everyday people that government can and should--and needs--to work for everyday people, not the billionaires, banks, and special interests that want to divide us. And he kept that up through the Great Recession and the challenges facing our country right now. While massive income inequality continues to grow, Hugh Espey and Iowa CCI are there in the heart of the Midwest listening and talking to the people who break their backs to help make this country great--and after hearing their stories, telling them that together we will make an economy that works for us all. Hugh and members of Iowa CCI know that it isn't the wealthy elite who built and who will maintain this country--it is the people who clock in and out every day, tend to the farm, and hold those in power accountable who will be the ones who shepherd us into the next phase of American greatness. Throughout 45 years at Iowa CCI, Hugh has understood the plight of working Americans--because he listens, asks questions, and makes no assumptions about the pain they are feeling. It is a lesson we could all learn from. Hugh has taught, mentored, advised, and more countless community organizers who are out there making this world a better place for those of us living in it and those who will live in it. This isn't easy work, but Hugh doesn't do things that are easy. He does the hard things that need to be done--for the worker, the farmer, the immigrant, the stranger--because he knows we are all in this together and that we all do better when we all do better. I thank Hugh for the important work he has done over the past 45 years and for all that he will accomplish in the years to come--because even though he has retired from CCI, I know that he cannot and will not stop fighting to put people first and put our communities before corporations. ____________________