Letter to Bush from ten Democratic Governors:
April 6, 2004
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Bush:
The past three years have left states in the worst fiscal crisis in half a century – a crisis compounded and made worse by the growing federal deficit. As governors of states struggling to overcome this crisis, we have continued to serve our citizens and make progress despite little or no help from the federal government.
Tomorrow, Senator John Kerry will lay out his budget priorities and his plan to restore fiscal discipline in Washington. We urge you to do the same. Americans deserve to hear, before the election, how you intend to fix the economy, restore fiscal responsibility and whether these fiscal policies will enable our nation to meet its responsibilities.
For the past three years, you have proposed or passed initiatives that would increase the deficit by more than $6 trillion over the next decade. You have cut taxes for our wealthiest citizens (at a cost of more than $2.2 trillion in the next decade alone). And your administration has pushed a plan to privatize Social Security that would cost an additional $1.4 trillion.
In contrast, millions of Americans every day take the responsibility to live within their means and spend within their family budget. They deserve the same from their elected leaders -- which is why we urge you, again, to immediately join Senator Kerry in telling Americans how you will pay for the cost of your plans.
Sincerely,
Vilsack / Richardson / Rendell / Sebelius / Holden / Wise / Locke / McGreevey / Minner / Doyle |
