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Politics : Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Kerry -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: American Spirit who wrote (5348)	3/6/2004 6:32:53 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81568

Kerry, Campaigning in Texas, Attacks Bush's Record on Jobs quote.bloomberg.com March 6 (Bloomberg) -- John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic nominee for U.S. president, attacked President George W. Bush's record on unemployment a day after the Labor Department reported fewer-than-expected new jobs. U.S. employers added 21,000 workers in February, less than the median forecast of 130,000 in a Bloomberg News survey of economists. Bush, 57, is ``not satisfied'' with that figure and wants to make his tax cuts permanent to help spur the economy, White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan said yesterday. Kerry, 60, called Bush ``a walking barrel of broken promises.'' The Massachusetts senator said he would lower unemployment by closing tax loopholes that send jobs and revenue overseas, enforcing the terms of trade agreements, increasing government funds for education and lowering health-care costs. ``We're going to go back to creating jobs in America,'' Kerry told more than 500 people today at a town-hall meeting in Houston, saying that 3 million jobs have been lost since Bush took office. ``There's no single one step.'' Kerry is campaigning in Bush's home state of Texas as he tries to raise money to combat one of the largest fund-raising advantages in presidential election history. Bush has raised a record $152 million. Through Jan. 31, Kerry raised $33 million, including $6.4 million of his own money. Last month, the campaign added an additional $8 million. During the town-hall meeting, Kerry made two appeals for donations. ``He believes it's important not to take a rest,'' Kerry campaign spokesman David Wade said yesterday. ``Every day, we're fighting to stay in the news.'' Health Care The candidate, who became the presumptive nominee after Senator John Edwards of North Carolina dropped out on Wednesday, also focused on health care. About 5.6 million people in Texas don't have health insurance, Kerry told the audience. Kerry pledged that the first piece of legislation he'd send to Congress would be a bill to extend health care to most Americans. His plan calls for the federal government to take over coverage of some of the most expensive cases as well as coverage of poor children, while the states would have responsibility for more of the uninsured adults. Kerry criticized a Medicare law passed last year that expands government payments for prescription drugs, saying that it didn't do enough to reduce the cost of medicines. Asked by a woman in the audience to explain it, he said, ``being a senator, I can explain it to you in two words. It stinks.'' Drug Prices The senator said he would favor allowing the government to negotiate bulk purchases of medicines to lower costs as well as allowing Americans to buy drugs in cheaper markets, such as Canada. Drugmakers such as Pfizer Inc. and Eli Lilly & Co. oppose both positions and have said that medicines coming in from Canada may be counterfeit or unsafe. Kerry also said he would require more disclosure from pharmacy benefit managers about their discounts and purchasing transactions. Pharmacy benefit managers, which include Medco Health Solutions Inc. and Caremark Rx Inc., act as middlemen between drugmakers and customers such as large employers. Kerry has said that he would fund new programs by rolling back Bush tax cuts for people making more than $200,000 a year. Today, he said his staff is looking at how much money might be raised by more aggressively pursuing uncollected taxes. Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Mark Everson told Bloomberg News last week that the Bush administration already is stepping up efforts to go after unpaid taxes. The IRS has estimated that as much as $310 billion a year goes uncollected. To contact the reporter on this story: Kristin Jensen in Houston at at kjensen@Bloomberg.net To contact the editor on this story: Glenn Hall at at ghall@Bloomberg.net Last Updated: March 6, 2004 15:22 EST