For the Next Generation : A Wake-Up Call to Solving Our Nation's Problems

Congresswoman and Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz challenges the nation to resolve tough political issues for future generations.

America has witnessed the dangers that come with shortsightedness, writes Debbie Wasserman Schultz in For the Next Generation. If we want to ensure prosperity for ourselves and an improved way of life for young Americans, we have to change, starting now. We must:

· Create jobs

· Turned around our economy

· Formulate a long-term energy solution

· Reform immigration policies

· Enhance and expand health-care coverage

Yet these important issues have been sidelined by gridlock in a Congress that is too concerned about the next election to worry about the future. The group of Americans who have the most to lose from this dysfunction are the ones least represented in government: America's children. For the Next Generation is a call to action, one mother's challenge to her congressional colleagues and to the rest of the nation, to adopt a parent's perspective for doing right by kids.

Marked by clarity and by Debbie's characteristic poise, this polemic is informed by the congresswoman's own personal and professional experiences. It digs deep, exposing very real threats that America faces as a result of its failure to confront tough decisions in politics. Debbie conveys a vision of an America that has learned hard lessons from its recent past, an America galvanized by a renewed sense of purpose for applying that wisdom through forward-thinking policies on education, civil rights, and foreign policy. She describes how she will fight to overcome the legislative obstacles that inhibit progress, and she calls upon fair-minded Americans to lend their own strengths to securing a better tomorrow for the next generation.

DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ was the youngest woman elected to the Florida state legislature and the first Jewish Congresswoman elected from Florida. Wife, mother of three, and breast cancer survivor, she is currently the Chair of the Democratic National Committee.

JULIE M. FENSTER is the author of FDR's Shadow, The Case of Abraham Lincoln, and Ether Day, and co-author of the New York Times bestseller Parish Priest.