Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (526459)	1/20/2004 10:29:02 AM
From: JakeStraw	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

Bush Speech Urging Health Care Initiative By SCOTT LINDLAW Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP)--Campaign 2004 officially under way, President Bush will use his State of the Union address Tuesday night to propose measures he says would bring millions of uninsured onto the health care rolls, while urging Americans to stand behind him in the war on terrorism. Bush will take advantage of the high-visibility speech to the nation to highlight his election-year agenda, a day after Democrats formally kicked off their presidential nomination selection process in the Iowa caucuses. Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts and John Edwards of North Carolina rode late surges to a one-two finish, pushing former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, the early favorite, to third. Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri finished a poor fourth. In his nationally televised address, scheduled for 9:01 p.m. EST at the U.S. Capitol, Bush will open with remarks on national security, then move into domestic priorities, contrary to past practice, aides said. He will urge Americans to back him on combating terrorism, arguing that the path he has chosen is the right one: using war to confront Iraq, diplomacy to urge North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons, persuasion to convince Libya to give up its illicit weapons. The president changed the order of his speech, choosing to end it with a long section on domestic concerns, at a time when Americans' priorities are shifting to domestic issues. An ABC News-Washington Post poll published Tuesday showed the number of Americans who want him to devote most of his speech to domestic issues has risen from 31 percent just before the 2002 address to 40 percent today. One new Bush initiative will be increased job retraining _ through grants to community colleges--in an economy that has seen the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs in manufacturing over the past few years. A year ago, Bush was preparing the nation for the Iraq war, which would come less than two months after his address to Congress. This year Bush is eager to maintain public support for postwar operations in Iraq, where the death toll for American troops passed 500 this week. Bush's job approval rating, 58 percent in the ABC-Washington Post poll taken Sunday, is higher than for any president at this point in his term since President Eisenhower in 1956. Bush's poll numbers are buoyed by his leadership on the fight against terrorism _ 66 percent approval--but dragged down by concerns over domestic issues, such as health care, immigration and the economy. The second half of Bush's speech will focus on domestic priorities, with a special emphasis on the economy, which has rebounded strongly since the president declared the end of major combat operations in Iraq in May. Bush will seek to convince Americans that his series of tax cuts has turned the economy around, and that he is now turning his attention to job creation, aides said. Bush will call for new job-training grants channeled through community colleges to help prepare American workers for a changing economy. Democrats said they were determined to make sure the president does not get too much credit; he has cut vocational education and an array of job-training programs in recent years, they said. Bush already has announced two large-scale proposals this month, rather than saving them for Tuesday's speech. On Jan. 7, he asked Congress to grant legal status to millions of undocumented workers in the United States. A week later, he said he wanted to establish a long-term presence on the moon to serve as a springboard to manned missions to Mars and beyond. Bush also will propose steps to rein in the rising costs of health care. But administration officials said they did not foresee a sweeping new proposal to bring more Americans onto the rolls of the insured. Rather, Bush was calling for a series of measures to reduce the rising costs of health care: Offering tax incentives to make high-deductible, low-premium policies more attractive, and bring more people into the insurance system; offering health savings accounts, which allow workers to place money into accounts tax-free and withdraw it with no tax penalty for medical expenses; passing Bush's medical-malpractice award caps; and allowing businesses to pool their resources to get workers coverage. Bush will also call for a more aggressive use of medical technology to reduce the number of medical mistakes, which drive up health care costs. White House aides say the measures, taken together, could bring millions of uninsured people into the health care system. daytondailynews.com