First I want to thank everyone on Team Maloney, my family, my staff - past and present - all my friends and supporters. Thank you for your passion, idealism, loyalty, and persistence. The long battles we fought together led to improbable victories and opportunities to serve and help countless people. People like our 9/11 first responders and survivors who needed health care. People being ripped off by financial institutions, even forced into bankruptcy by unfair deceptive credit card fees. NY workers who needed good infrastructure jobs. Commuters who desperately needed better transportation. We helped women, children and families who needed family leave. We put the ERA back on the agenda. I am proud to have followed in the footsteps and stand on the shoulders of the strong New York women who opened doors and took on the tough battles – Bella Abzug, Shirley Chisholm and Gerry Ferraro, to name just a few. Together, we must move forward and build on their legacies, continue to open doors, end all forms of discrimination and smash glass ceilings. We must continue to be unbought and unbossed, a Shirley Chisholm campaign slogan - and remind people again – a Woman’s Place is in the House – the House of Representatives, as coined by Bella. When women are at the table where decisions get made, the menu of issues expands and the agenda changes. Speaker Pelosi proves this is true – she has successfully moved the House to pass more progressive legislation than at any other time. But with a Senate filibuster in place, that agenda is stalled. We must maintain a Democratic House and increase margins in the Senate to stop the extremists who are working to end our democracy. A big Democratic win in November will mean the difference between being able to move this country forward towards a more perfect union with equal liberty and justice for all – or watching it be sent on a forced march back to a darker time – where democracy itself is at stake and our rights are stripped away. We cannot and we must not give up. The fight continues. So, thanks again to you – each and every one of you. It’s been the joy of my life, and a privilege to work for you. #NY12