Paul Tonko: “You know, we're not. And I think it's, again, that belief, that sense that we can accomplish; as you were talking about…”

“You know, we're not. And I think it's, again, that belief, that sense that we can accomplish; as you were talking about, those early, early days from our humble beginnings. I was reminded of the event this weekend in my district in Saratoga where we were revisiting the area that hosted General Burgoyne's surrender to the American troops after the Battle of Saratoga. And this was the David and Goliath routine. We weren't supposed to win that battle. It's been dubbed the battle of the millennium. And that it was more than a national battle. It made a statement around the world that this mighty force came up against insurmountable odds and won. That's in our DNA. We are replete in our history of all sorts of response that came in powerful measure, that said, ``this is America at her best.'' That's the moment to seize right here. Not to walk away and sequester us, weaken us, disinvest in us, defund us. I told a group of young students this weekend with the Hugh O'Brien Youth Leadership Conference, hundreds of students: Do not let us as a political generation undo your political generation. You are worthy of education dollars, you are in need of access affordability to a college path, you deserve your climate change to be addressed, your planet requires our stewardship. What is this walking away from the next generation? Is that our legacy? Is that what we want our legacy to be?…”