Congressman Hoyer Remarks at AFGE Legislative Conference Rally

WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) delivered the following remarks at the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Legislative and Grassroots Mobilization Conference at the Taft Memorial this afternoon. Below are excerpts of his remarks:

"Alright! Mr. [Everett] Kelley! President Kelley, Leader Kelley! And all of you are leaders. I am so pleased to be here. I agree with everything [Rep.] Gerry Connelly said, thank you very much. [Laughter.]

"Sara Nelson is over there, she's got this wonderful trill, I don't know if you've been hearing it … let me tell you, she's fired up all the time, Sara Nelson, Sara, good to be with you. It's cold out here! But it's warmer than it was from 2017 to 2021. It's warmer than it was because we have a man down that street who cares about federal employees and who understands the importance of federal employees, who understands that we sit — we stand, or we sit, or do whatever we do up here, and we talk, we write legislation — but it means nothing unless you're on the job because you then do it. You then make it happen. I heard Gerry give this litany of the things that you do, the veterans, the Social Security recipients, and the disabled, and others are so reliant on what you do every day. Every day.

"Some three or four years ago, as Gerry Connelly was saying, [Republicans] shut down the government. They sent people home. They didn't worry about if you could pay your mortgage. They didn't worry about whether you could pay your kid's school, they didn't worry about whether you could pay your gas bills – which were a lot less then. They took your pay. Amen.

"This is a serious time in our country. It is a serious time for our democracy. I don't know how many we have here, maybe 100, 150, maybe 200 we have here? We need 2000, we need 20,000, we need 200,000 federal employees out here! Organized, paying dues, standing up, speaking up, speaking out! Our democracy is at risk. The good news is we've got people in that House, and that Senate standing up for workers in America. Because we know that it's workers that get the job done. They may not sometimes get the credit, but we know that it is you and the people you represent who get the job done, who and make a difference every day in the lives of Americans and make a difference for America.

"Our democracy is at risk. So, you know that we have to speak up, stand up, and join up, federal employees. The American Federation of Government Employees speaks [with] a louder voice because united we stand, divided we fall. So, not only do we need to speak up and stand up and act out, what else do we need to do? We need to vote! We need to vote! We need to vote! Because [the] vote makes the difference. That's your voice in America. There's some people who want to shut you out. There's some people who are advantaged when you don't vote, when your voice is not heard it makes there voice louder. So, I'm glad to be here with you, in the cold and you're glad I'm not going to give all this speech. I want to thank you personally. I want to thank you personally.

"…I know this, you have been my strong supporters and great friends, and great advisors. Thank you very much AFGE, President Kelley, thank you, and all the leadership of AFGE and all of you who are the worker bees and the leader bees, and the voices of those who work for the taxpayers of this country. You bless America, you bless America every day. God bless you. Thank you very much. Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote!"