Pelosi: Pre-Buttal to State of the Union Address

Monday, January 31, 2005
Contact: Brendan Daly/Jennifer Crider

Washington, D.C. – This morning, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid delivered the pre-buttal to the State of the Union Address on the need to confront the urgent challenges facing our nation at home and abroad.  Below are her remarks:

“Good morning.  Thank you, Debra Silimeo, for the opportunity for the Democratic leadership to address the National Press Club today.  And Rick Dunham, Mr. President, it’s nice to have someone in the room we can call Mr. President.  Congratulations to you being the new president of the National Press Club.

“It’s an honor to be here with the new Senate Democratic Leader, Harry Reid, who came to the leadership with the overwhelming support of his constituents, the full confidence of his Senate colleagues, and the respect of all who know him.  Good morning, Senator Reid.

“At the start, let me say a word about this weekend’s elections in Iraq.  Yesterday, because of the courage of the Iraqi people and the bravery of the American troops who provided security, Iraq took a significant step on the road to self-determination. 

“Now, it is time to take the additional steps that will improve Iraq’s economic and political stability, and allow our troops to come home. 

“That means changing our military focus from combat operations to training the Iraqi army.  This action is long overdue. 

“It means intensifying our reconstruction efforts, with initiative and accountability that give the Iraqi people hope for their future.

“And it means more aggressively pursuing diplomatic efforts with Iraq’s neighbors -- who have the greatest stake in Iraq’s security and stability. 

“If those steps are taken, the elections scheduled for December can be held in a more secure atmosphere, with broader participation, and a much smaller American presence. 

“This morning, Leader Reid will address the issues of Iraq and national security more fully.  I will focus on domestic issues.

"As Debra said, on Wednesday, President Bush will deliver his State of the Union address to Congress.  As the President begins his second term, it is fitting that we pause to look at where our nation stands, where we are headed, and what better course of action should be taken.  

“Today, America faces the threat of terrorism, a war in Iraq, a ballooning budget deficit, and a society where too many people go without jobs, health care or educational opportunity.

“To meet these challenges, the Democrats’ approach is based on America’s core values and the entrepreneurial spirit that is the legacy of our Party and of our country.

“On every issue our nation faces, our commitment is to see that the policies we pursue are consistent with the values we cherish.

“To that end, House Democrats have put forward our New Partnership for America’s Future, which reaffirms our dedication to six core values for a strong and secure middle class: national security, prosperity, opportunity, fairness, community, and accountability.

“Our Partnership is with the American people, and honors the trust they have placed in us.

“Democrats are committed to a prosperity that includes many more Americans in the economic success of our country.  By creating 10 million new jobs, we will advance economic security for America’s families.

“Our sense of fairness demands that we expand access to health care, because health care is a right and not a privilege.  And we can start by ensuring health care for all of America’s children.

“We must expand opportunity, with a vibrant public education system which truly leaves no child behind, and with the chance for our young people to go to college without going deeply into debt. 

“We need to strengthen community – working to build safe neighborhoods free of crime and drugs, and by promoting a clean and healthy environment where polluters pay for the damage they cause, instead of children paying with their health.

“We must ensure accountability, by restoring fiscal discipline and holding those in power accountable for their actions.  Democrats support pay-as-you-go budgeting that does not grow the deficit and heap decades of debt onto our children.

“And, above all, we must guarantee national security, with a strong system of homeland security, a military that is second to none, and a commitment to stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction.  Democrats support a strong national defense that will never send our young people into harm’s way without the equipment they need.

“Our New Partnership for America’s Future honors our commitment to make the future brighter for the next generation.  America has always been about the responsibility of one generation to another.

“That tradition is embodied in the Democratic Party’s commitment to Social Security.  I am so pleased that three of my colleagues, Congressman Sandy Levin, who is our point person on Social Security, Congressman Marion Berry, and Congressman Jim McGovern, are here.  Any other colleagues in the room?  Congressman John Larson.  I am so pleased my colleagues are here because Democrats are united and prepared to make the fight to strengthen Social Security.  Thank you my, colleagues.

“Social Security is the most visionary example of what President Franklin Roosevelt called ‘bold, persistent experimentation.’  Its goal was to ensure that the prospect of retirement was not met with the specter of poverty.

“It has been an incredible success.  It has enabled our seniors to enjoy independence.  And it has enabled our country to obey the commandment: “honor thy father and thy mother.”

“Not only does Social Security improve the lives of the more than 33 million senior citizens who receive its benefits, it also provides a measure of independence for workers who have become disabled, and the children and spouses of those who have become disabled or passed away.

“Social Security does face problems down the road.  We need to solve them.  But we have the time to do it right. 

“We can solve the long-term challenge without dismantling Social Security, and without allowing this Administration’s false declaration of a crisis to justify a privatization that is unnecessary, unaffordable, and unwise.

“To be sustainable, any long-term solution must be bipartisan.  And as a first step, we must work off the same set of numbers and the same set of goals.

“The President talks about a crisis, but according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, Social Security will be solvent for nearly 50 years.

“Democrats see strengthening Social Security as the cornerstone of independence for our seniors and for people with disabilities. President Bush sees undermining Social Security as the cornerstone of his ‘ownership society.’

“Because so many people are touched by it, and so many resources are committed to it -- it is right that we are having a discussion about the future of Social Security. 

“It is also right that Democrats stand up for our values – the values that created, defended, and will strengthen Social Security.  And that is why we believe any consideration of Social Security must adhere to three key principles.

“First, Democrats insist that changes to Social Security not add to the deficit.  Any plan for Social Security needs to begin by paying back the money that has been borrowed from the trust fund, just as President Clinton did in the late 1990s.

“To establish private accounts requires borrowing more than $2 trillion over the next 10 years, $6 trillion over the next 20, and $15 trillion over the next 40 years. 

“That is a staggering price tag for privatization, and it will make the problem worse, not better.

“As the Concord Coalitionquoted, “establishing personally owned accounts and funding them with borrowed money would send a dangerous signal to the markets that we are not taking our fiscal problems seriously.”

“Increased debt also means increased interest rates, which makes mortgages, credit card payments and student loans more expensive. 

"Nor should we be mortgaging our future to foreign investors who would be funding that debt.  Trillions and trillions of dollars of debt.

“That is why every American deserves to know the true cost – and the necessary tradeoffs – of the President’s Social Security overhaul. 

“If this is indeed one of his priorities, it must be accounted for – without gimmicks – in the budget the Administration submits to Congress next week.  Right now, as you know, the plan is to have it off budget.

“Democrats insist upon fiscal discipline with budgets that pay as we go, and we want to strengthen Social Security for future generations. That cannot be done by increasing the debt we leave to those same future generations.  Democrats will not support President Bush’s tax on the future.

“Second, Democrats insist any change in Social Security not begin by slashing benefits.  The average Social Security check today is $950 a month.  That is not a great deal of money for those who depend on that check to pay for food, rent, heat, and medicine. 

“Under the leading privatization plan proposed by the President’s Social Security commission, the Social Security benefit could be cut by 40 percent.  Even considering a cut of that magnitude is unconscionable.

“Workers who have paid into Social Security with every paycheck must receive the guaranteed benefit they were promised. 

“It is the knowledge of that guaranteed benefit that allows more people in our society to pursue the entrepreneurial dreams that fuel so much of our economy.

“The burst of the Internet bubble in 2000 wreaked havoc on private investments.  “We won’t let a guaranteed benefit become a guaranteed gamble.

“Third and finally, any change to Social Security must be fair. 

“The president has suggested a two-tiered system that treats current retirees differently from younger workers.

“President Bush likes to say that young people have the most to gain under his plan, but the truth is that young people have the most to lose.  Social Security will be there for today’s young people, unless the President gets his way.

“According to the Center on Economic and Policy Research, under the leading privatization proposal, a young person entering the workforce today can expect to lose more than $150,000 over the course of a 20-year retirement.

“Incredibly, there was even a Republican suggestion to provide women and minority workers with a different level of benefits.

“Women are the majority of Social Security beneficiaries, and are less likely than men to have pensions or retirement savings to supplement their Social Security checks.  And Social Security is extremely important for the millions of minority families who heavily rely on its survivor, disability, and retirement benefits.

“Fairness demands that changes to Social Security not undermine entrepreneurial opportunity for our young people, and the independence of women and minorities.

“These are standards: fiscal responsibility, fairness, and not slashing benefits.  These principles should guide us in the debate on Social Security.

“Democrats will not allow this Administration to turn this proud, entrepreneurial achievement of the New Deal into a raw deal for millions of Americans.

“Let there be no doubt in anyone’s mind -- Democrats will fight to see Social Security strengthened, not destroyed.

“Further, strengthening Social Security must be viewed in the context of the larger retirement picture. 

“We need to do more to promote pension portability, and to help people save and create wealth by strengthening and expanding access to 401(k)s, IRAs, and other types of pensions. 

"These measures are crucial to guaranteeing greater flexibility for our young people, and, again, greater independence for our seniors in retirement.

“Democrats believe that Social Security must form the foundation of a comprehensive plan for retirement security. 

“Social Security is a promise, kept from one generation to another generation, a guarantee of dignity and independence.  “Social Security is the closest thing our government has to a sacred trust.  Mr. President, do not betray that trust.

“Truth and trust are essential to our democracy.  Yet in President Bush’s Administration, we have seen a propensity to manufacture crises where none exist, and then turn to preordained ideas as the solutions to them. 

“As a result, this Administration has often pursued solutions that only deepen the problems, and undermine the trust of the American people. 

“Right now, in so many of the areas where we should be making progress, we are either backsliding or simply holding the line.  That is unacceptable in a country such as ours, where progress is our hallmark.

“There are some in Congress and across the country who see what we’re advocating – access to health care for all, a prosperity that creates good-paying jobs and lifts every child out of poverty, and the promise of higher education for all – as inconceivable.  Democrats are optimists.  We see them as inevitable. 

“By embracing the ‘bold, persistent experimentation’ that is the legacy of the Democratic Party and our country, we can bridge the gap between the inconceivable and the inevitable.

“In doing so, we can build a future worthy of the trust of the American people, the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, and the aspirations of all of America’s children.  

“Thank you.”

“ 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