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“ Democratic priorities are clear: we will fight to get the economy back on track, we will create jobs, and we will help unemployed workers. ” |
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Pelosi: President’s Misguided Priorities, Mistaken Policies, and Misdirected Blame Fail to Address Needs of Middle Class
Washington, D.C. – House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today in response to President Bush’s press conference this morning:
“President Bush’s press conference is the latest example of how his misguided priorities, mistaken policies, and misdirected blame fail to address the real needs of middle-class families.
“Congress should be working in a bipartisan way on policies helping the middle-class, but the Republican leadership in Congress is unwilling to put partisanship aside for the public good.
“The President and the Republican Congress have had five years to put forth a commonsense energy policy. As energy lobbyists wrote the Republicans’ energy bill and gas prices climbed to record levels at the pump, the President missed every opportunity to help middle-class families.
“The President and Republicans in Congress will miss an opportunity to strengthen Social Security if they continue to insist that private accounts are the solution when the facts tell a different story. Privatization makes Social Security weaker by necessitating trillions of dollars in new debt and benefit cuts of more than 40 percent for middle-class families. The President’s Social Security plan moves in the wrong direction – it turns a guaranteed benefit into a guaranteed gamble.
“President Bush and Republicans in Congress went from record surpluses to record deficits in record time. Rather than being a statement of our national priorities, the Republican budget is yet another missed opportunity.
“The Bush Administration’s trade policy is a “race to the bottom” rather than one focused on expanding markets, spurring economic growth, and raising living standards in the U.S. and abroad. America needs free trade, but also fair trade. By being neither free nor fair, CAFTA is another missed opportunity.
“Middle-class Americans can not afford any more missed opportunities. Democrats are fighting for a meaningful energy policy that will lower gas prices now, a bipartisan approach that strengthens Social Security so that all Americans receive the benefits they have earned, restored fiscal integrity through pay as you go, and trade agreements with strong labor and environmental protections.”
“ Democrats are united in presenting a New Direction for America, one that will make our nation as strong as its people, one that brings opportunity, security, and prosperity to all Americans. ”
Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi
