One of the very few good guys who voted against the Pat Act on Bush SOTU, Rep. Peter DeFazio, D OR:
WASHINGTON, DC— U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Springfield) tonight responded to President Bush's State of the Union address. Following are DeFazio's remarks:
"Tonight the President presented some big ideas. But with big ideas, come big price tags: $1.85 trillion in new tax cuts for the wealthiest few, $1 trillion for Social Security privatization, up to $1 trillion for long-term presence on the moon and a manned-mission to Mars, $140 billion for subsidies to oil, gas and coal industries. Add to that, at least another $50 billion for the ongoing conflict in Iraq.
"With cumulative deficits of $6 trillion and annual deficits of $500 billion or more for the foreseeable future, where will this money come from?
"As this great nation faces growing challenges Congress must carefully establish our priorities to lead this country in the right direction. The decisions we make today will dramatically affect Americans for generations to come.
"Tonight, the President stood before the nation and claimed victory on the economy, while 8.4 million Americans continue to pound the pavement in search of work. We've lost almost 3 million jobs since President Bush took office, 53,000 in Oregon. Under the President's tenure, unemployment in Oregon broke records, increasing by 53 percent. Despite the anemic job market, President Bush still refuses to extend unemployment benefits to the 90,000 long-term jobless Americans who are losing their benefits each week. In a further assault against working Americans, the President has proposed eliminating overtime rights for almost 1.4 million workers in the Northwest.
"The President's solution, a $120 million job-training grant program, does little to counter the almost $1 billion in funding he eliminated in his previous annual budgets and the 3 million jobs lost during his three years in office. The President will further exacerbate the job loss with plans to expand NAFTA to Central America.
"The most effective way to create jobs and reinvigorate the economy is to make a substantial investment in repairing our nation's crumbling infrastructure. For every $1 billion we invest in rebuilding our roads and bridges, 47,500 jobs and approximately $6 billion in economic activity is created. Tax cuts should be targeted to those who need it, working families and small businesses.
"Tonight the President proposed making his tax cut package 'permanent;' providing another $1.8 trillion in new tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans -- those earning over $311,000 a year-- tax cuts that few Oregonians will receive. Half of Oregonians received less than $100 from the President's previous tax cuts, while the top one percent of Oregon taxpayers received an average of $36,500. America can't afford to keep rewarding the accumulation of wealth over the dignity of work.
"Tonight the President proposed privatizing Social Security. His plan would drain $1 trillion from the program and signal the end of Social Security as we know it. The only way to fill the hole created by privatization is to raise taxes, increase the national debt or slash benefits. There's no free lunch under President Bush's plan or any other privatization plan, for that matter.
"Despite a $400 billion Pentagon budget and two emergency appropriations our soldiers are being sent into harm's way without the best protective equipment and training available. The American taxpayers shoulder the majority of the cost of the war in Iraq while Halliburton and other corporate interests reap windfalls from no-bid contracts.
"We must begin the transition of power to a stable Iraqi government so we can bring our troops home and bring relief to an over-extended military. It is important to refocus our efforts on the nation's number-one threat, Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda.
"Not only has the Administration failed to provide for our soldiers currently serving at home and abroad, this administration is failing the soldiers who served before them. The President has proposed increasing the cost of health care and slashing benefits for Veterans.
"At home we must equip our police, fire fighters, and emergency medical teams, the first to respond to any local disaster whether it be natural or terrorist related. We have more work to do to secure our ports and borders and protect chemical and nuclear facilities.
"Since the president took office 2.4 million Americans have lost health insurance. Health insurance premiums for middle-income families over past three years is triple the tax cut they will receive under President Bush's plan. We must begin to bring down the escalating cost of prescription drugs by allowing the government to use the purchasing power of 40 million Medicare beneficiaries and lower the cost of pharmaceuticals, rather than subsidizing the wealthy pharmaceutical and insurance companies.
"The President even underfunded his No Child Left Behind education initiative by almost $17 billion. Children in America are still attending overcrowded, underfunded schools. Attending college has become increasingly difficult due to high tuition costs -- Oregon has recently seen a 15 percent increase in tuition, the highest in the West. We must fully fund the No Child Left Behind initiative and higher education programs like the Pell Grant, so every student can enjoy a quality education and the opportunity to attend college.
defazio.house.gov |
