deliberations. they discussed a variety of issues, including gay marriage and, on the environment, and health care. the meeting is in indianapolis. >> i want to thank all of the groups to have come before us this weekend and provided testimony. we want to keep the floor open. we want to hear from one of our grass roots activists and leaders. four years ago, we introduced a component to our platform drafting process that recall listening to america. we have reached out to supporters across the nation to solicit input on our party's platform. we continue this out reached in 2012 by creating an online portal for democrats at all levels to submit their testimony to this committee. hundreds have been received over the past few weeks and days. today we will hear from several individuals who are representative of the submissions that have been received. for this section of our meeting, i will introduce our speakers who have volunteered their time to come and share their stories with us today. after their testimony, the committee can ask questions. once again, because we have many coming before us, we encourage you to be as concise as you can be with your testimony and with their questions. we want to hear from everyone. we will begin this section with a hearing from peggy. she represents listening to america. she is a member of a band. she is also a former elected official. she is a longtime political activists and community organizer. she is a director of external affairs at wellstone action. thank you for coming. we look forward to hearing your story. >> good morning. my name is peggy. i am a member and my family is the wolf clan. we are the protectors of the community. we are making sure we are not leaving people behind. we want to ensure our culture, language, and way of life is honored and protected. that is why i do this work. through my role at wellstone action, i run that need of american leadership program. we trouble all around the country and teaching folks to work on campaigns and run for office and make peace in their communities. during that time, i have been able to see firsthand really what a difference having barack obama as president has been for us. i am not speaking with my nonprofit role, but as an activist. it is important to know that it is out there. people know. i think first of all does a storm, perhap -- just a stark ct we have had. for the first time, i feel like as a native women, native american, you can see me. for many years, we felt invisible. with the leadership of president obama, for the first time i really feel like i have a voice and representation in the white house. president obama has kept many of the promises he made when he was on the campaign trail. let me tell you as a native person and having elected officials on their promises, that is a big deal. to see the follow-through and the commitment to the country has been very powerful. the nation to nation relationship in honoring that and in the government and honoring the promises and literally meaning annually with tribal leaders across the country sends the message that he is listening. the appointment of several native staff members threw out the administration, i can see myself -- t hroughout the administration, i can see myself. that speaks volumes on how the president has really supported native folks. the declaration on the rights of indigenous people of the year and that the president signed on to in 2010, we were one of the last nations to sign on. it seems like simply signature saying this is important. but it goes a long way. it is symbolic. it shows that it is a new era we are entering into. it is a time when native people are being honored and respected in this country. we are seen as partners. i think the affordable health care act is something that we talk a lot about nationally in. for native people, this is really important. it is very special. when affordable health care act was passed, it meant that the health care was passed. we are getting additional funding and resources. what i have seen in the past is that family members are having amputation because their diabetes has gotten out of control. that was sort of the norm. we would treat a problem when it got so bad that it was the only option you had. now with the affordable health care act and the native indian health care act, we can talk about prevention. how we treat our families is healthy. i work with a lot of young people in the community. so often when they hear is that when i get diabetes -- and that is not a sentence i want to hear any more. we are on the right path now that we have the opportunity to teach prevention and have a debased in a culture and have policies in place that teach folks. that can be reflected in taking care of 1's health and families. as a survivor of domestic violence and a child witness, this act means a lot to me personally. native women, one in three native women, will be raped or sexually assaulted in her lifetime. we should be on fire with that statistic. i think the signing of the trouble law and order to act was a for step in ensuring that these crimes against our communities would be prosecuted and that there'll be more coordination with law enforcement. the native does not mean that different laws apply to you. it means that you will be protected. it means you can have the expectation of safety, just like everyone else. for me personally, with my own personal experience and also the other expenses of other people, it means a lot. looking forward, i think there is always room for improvement. the last few years have been very fundamental. it seems the president deserves four more years to see how much further we can go. i look forward to knocking on doors and calling people. if i have to wear a sandwich board on the side of the road, i will do it. there is a lot of damage that was done under the bush administration. we are only beginning to see how we can reach our full potential by partnering in this government to government relationship. in addition to being a member, i am also an urban indian. we have opportunities to think big. how come we also serve the need and ensure we are working partnerships with urban and native americans. there are several opportunities there. i look forward to that. there is of the current economic crisis our country faces. indian country is impacted dramatically by the economic situation. what we can look forward to and focus on for the next four years is a job creation and economic development and trying to make sure it happens. finally, one of the things i about ise tyou to think that we need and native american caucus. an official native american caucus at the dnc. we want to get more need of delegates. this president -- this is the beginning of an opportunity to further relationships with native communities. i want to be a part of that. i want to help. it will take a commitment from the dnc as a whole to make sure that happens. those are my comments. >> thank you for your testimony. questions from the committee? yes. >> i want to thank you for coming in and testifying before as today. you are wonderful. i appreciate what you have to offer. i myself am a native american. who from our community would come and talk to this committee about the importance of what the president has done for us and what work has to be done in the next four years? i know in 2008, native americans really rallied behind president obama. in some of the states like south dakota and arizona, they jump through hoops to get him into office. he has in turn done well by our community. one of the things yet to be done is the passage of the authorization of the violence against women act. we know that republicans have essentially gutted those protections that have been in place before. i was wondering if you might speak to us a little bit about the value of that to indian country. >> absolutely. thank you per your question. in addition to my role, i work a lot in this. sheila has been a lot of time in native communities and talking to survivors and advocates. it is critical, this passage. the proposed act stand against violence and of our native women act would address the gap between law enforcement to ensure that these cases would not slip through the cracks. need women should feel safe and supported to report these crimes -- native women should feel safe and supported to report these crimes. it is critical that we get the president re-elected, but in the congress and senate as well. we need folks will be champions for native women. i agree with you. it is critical. i also think that the job and the role of native americans is to tell a story and talk to our family and friends. anyone who will listen in our community to talk about a critical it is to re-elect the president and all of the promises he has kept. i am looking forward to the next few months of being able to do that. i call on other members of tribal communities to do the same. >> we have two more questions. we're not quite halfway through our presenters yet. please keep your questions as concise and answers as concise as possible. we want to make sure everyone who has come to speak with us has the opportunity to do so. yes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. as an adoptive member of a tribe, can you speak a little bit about the importance of education and the importance of that education in the leadership of indian country and sovereign nations as all of you come back to those spaces? >> absolutely. i am a recovering in annapolis school board member. it is something i takes here say. education is the foundation for nation-building. i think one of the things the president is committed to is honoring culture and language within the education of native children. i'm a person from my own expense that if i did not see myself reflected in the curriculum or in my teachers, i would not have value education as much. that is what will be bridging that gap. it is critical for us to rebuild our nation. it is supported to have native children reflected in their education. >> over here. >> i want to thank you for your testimony. we will be and are looking forward to having a native american caucus at our convention. as you probably know, we have a native american council at the dnc. we are looking for new members. we work hard to attain that some of the members can become a caucus. i welcome your comments. i wanted you to know that we agree. we are working on it. >> thank you. >> thank you for coming in. ms. seger testimony. our next presenter is the-thank you for your testimony. our next presenter is caroline kaiser. she has come to us today to share her personal expenses as a result of the attacks on public workers her state of wisconsin. thank you for coming in. we are anxious to your to have to say to us. >> good morning. i appreciate this opportunity to speak with you at the democratic national platform. in my history as working as a licensed practical nurse in the department of health services in wisconsin. i'm currently employed as a field representative. in wisconsin, we value fairness above all, but for members in my home state, the balance has been tipped toward injustice. today, i would like you to highlight two issues on the platform that would level the playing field for public employees -- collective bargaining and federal aid for the public service is that we provide. i am sure you have heard a thing or two are probably 20 of the struggles of public workers that we have had with our governor in the past year. but it all comes down to collective bargaining. we took a big hit when governor walker sold our right to bargain. his action show why we need a democratic party to do all they can to protect collective bargaining rights in public and private sectors. i work with people will have a dual diagnosis of mental illness and disabilities. because of walker, workers in this agency are no longer able to negotiate with our administration about the issues of safety for the workers and clients. that worries me and worries my colleagues. the need for safety equipment used to be a subject of collective bargaining. now we have no collective voice to make sure we have the safety equipment we need. on top of that, there's a feeling a vacancy. the staffing requirements, employees have to work overtime. this work is challenging enough without having to work extremely long days. members are feeling the impacts of unfilled vacancies. they are expected to perform the same work with fewer employees. when they say to finish the work, they know they will not paid -- get paid overtime, but reprimanded. workers across the board are facing these problems and many more. the stakes are high for us and for our communities that we serve. i am asking you to protect collective bargaining rights. we need you to help us get rid of the obstacles that are in the way for more workers to become a union representative. for us in wisconsin, we will keep fighting our battle. i would like to raise another issue for both state employees and for our communities, and the that is the funding that we provide. in my work, federal funding through medicaid and other programs are our lifeblood. that funded let's as to what we do and do it well. it is true that in many of the areas, including highway maintenance and university systems of public safety, this funding is critical. i hope the platform will have a strong statement about increasing funding to both state and local governments. i know that money does not fall from trees. it does not fall from the sky. we from wisconsin are thrilled that president obama is pushing to end the tax cut for the richest 2% of our country. those 2% do not pay their fair share of taxes. my family and the families that i work with do pay our fair share. we are asking the democratic party to support getting rid of the tax breaks for the millionaires and billionaires. working families are still struggling in this economy. strengthening this is to make sure the workers like me to have their voices heard. it when the government to fully support the work that we do and that our communities reliant. thank you. >> thank you for coming in and the good work that you do. are there questions from the committee? yes. >> thank you for traveling here from wisconsin to tell us your story. wisconsin has had a rough and dramatic year, starting with governor walker's assault on government employees. he also mentioned state and local aid and letting the bush tax cuts expire. can you talk a little bit about how -- there were a lot of folks that are out of the capital and standing with all of you. if you could say a few words about that. >> i was there on the first day it happened in february and of 2011. we were overwhelmed and humbled. we were honored that many people realize the work that other people do. many people came who were not union members. their kids had teachers and had gone to teaching hospitals and things like that. and brought out the worst of everyone. everyone has a role. >> thank you. >> other comments and questions? you do hard work and serve honorable people. we honor you today. we thank you for being here. >> thank you. >> our next presenters are two. amy ward and ross daniels. they are from west des moines. they will be talking about the affordable health care act on their own lives. we look forward to their testimony. >> thank you. to the distinguished members of the platform committee, i want to say thank you for inviting my husband and i to share our stories, particularly how obamacare helps my family during a catastrophic illness. last summer, we took a vacation in northern minnesota. my husband likes to fish and i like to cardiac. it was a great vacation -- i like to kayak. it was a great vacation, but as i was getting out of the kayak, i slepped. -- slipped. i fell in to the water and swallowed some water. the doctor said i had a mild case of pneumonia. i thought after a few days of antibiotics, i would be back to normal, but i was wrong. one week later, i was on life- support and a medically induced,. a terrible infection was raging in my body, but doctors had no clue what was causing it. even though i was on a ventilator, my body could not get enough oxygen. my lungs had failed. i developed septic shock. my kidneys failed. my digestive system failed. my liver was not working so well. multiple blood transfusions. because of the kidney failure, i was on constant dialysis for two weeks. i learned later that my chances for survival and were very low. about one in three. finally, my doctors decided what was making me sick. i had contracted a rare, and ammonia in my lungs from the one mouthful of lake water. just one. i was lucky though. there was a medication that could help me. that medication cost $3,000 per day. i was in a coma overall for six weeks. this is what it took to save my life. extremely expensive, cutting edge, a bioengineered medication. the most advanced medical technology available for the ventilators and the dialysis machine and more. but also, the finest specialist in infectious diseases and cardiology and ear, nose, and throat. definitely the finest nurses. nearly two months in intensive care. when i awoke from my,, i wish shocked. almost all of my strength was gone. i needed help with everything. after those two months of intensive care, i had one month of inpatient physical therapy. later, i needed, nursing and home equipment. i doctors gave a recommendation to help me breathe better. as you can see, i still have it in due to complications, i have no voice for several months. i still need this to breathe well and speak well. i have had four surgery is to help me breed and speak better. i know that i need at least one more. i have had to learn to walk and care for myself again. all of this was caused by one mouthful of lake water. the cause of my i see you today practically exceeded -- my icu practically exceeded a huge amount. the amount is now $1.5 million. i was lucky that my health insurance no longer had a $1 million cap. before i got sick, i was at $1 million would take about -- take care about anything. i could not imagine i would need $1 million worth of care. when i looked at that $1 million limit on the health insurance card, that number seemed just fine. i was wrong to think that $1 million would always be enough of healthetime's worth care. i am grateful that i have the resources to get well. before obamacare, we would have gone bankrupt trying to do so. one day, i will be well enough to go back to work because of obamacare. i pre-existing condition will not exclude me from employer insurance plans. even though i in getting better, the battle for making health care available to all americans is still raging. many people still need help. for that, we need all states to participate for the medicaid expansion. we need the scientists to make funding decisions for the future of biomedical research. we need to make sure that high- tech drugs, like the one that saved my life, will continue to be developed. we need the public to understand their new obamacare privileges. tax credits on public exchanges will help reduce the impact of annual premium increases that some of the players have blamed on obamacare rather than taking responsibility for their own business decisions. as i look back, my illness has completely changed how i looked at health care in america. if you remember anything i say today, please remember this -- i am an average person. i am a daughter, wife, a sister, and a friend. my illness was a total fluke. but it can happen to anyone, even to you. our health care system needs to be ready both for you and for all americans. thank you for listening. my husband will now speak. >> to distinguish members of the plot for a committee, i would like to thank the democratic members of congress and many others who have put th