congress, jan shikowski was one of us. she was a activist winning victories then and now for our consumers, seniors and women. and she kept on being an activist in congress. as a member of the simpson-bowles commission, she wrote up a progressive alternative to that unpopular deficit plan and she advanced a clear plan for funding public needs through economic growth, not austerity and through progressive taxation, and working with all of us, she put forward real solutions. jan also knows about the devastation that conservative poli policies are imposing on working families. we asked her here today for her to talk about how we can create a common sense program and create an economic future for young people and how we can win a new congressional majority that will prevent the conservatives from having the power to throw our country over the cliff in december. so please give a big, big welcome to our progressive champion, jan shikowski. >> thank you. thanks so much roger and thank you for organizing this fabulous event. i thi