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Etheridge Statement Reacting to
Bush's First Address to Congress

Statement of
The Honorable Bob Etheridge
Reaction to Bush Budget Statement
February 27, 200

"I was pleased by the civil tone the President struck and with his call for bi-partisanship. As we look to the challenges and the opportunities before us, we must govern from the center, and those of us in the moderate ranks on both sides of the aisle, can serve to bridge the divide between political parties to achieve common sense solutions.

"As the only former state schools chief serving in Congress, I look forward to working with the Bush Administration and my colleagues to craft education reform legislation that builds on North Carolina's progress to enhance lifetime learning for all. As I have said before, vouchers are dead on arrival as far as I am concerned. North Carolinians do not want their tax dollars to go to pay for private schools. We must use our taxpayer dollars to make public schools better, not to pay private school tuition. I commend the President for his emphasis on character education. Character education has worked in many parts of North Carolina to help our children view the world through a moral lens, and I am pleased that he is going to triple funding for character education.

"I am willing to consider all options to strengthen Social Security, but I am concerned that privatization would demolish the social compact that assures our families can have retirement security after a lifetime of hard work. Social Security is one of the landmark achievements of the 20th century, and it would be wrong to gamble away these funds in the stock market. We should strengthen Social Security and revamp Medicare to help seniors afford their needed prescriptions.

"I agree with the President that the American people deserve a tax cut, but I have grave reservations about a plan that will cost more than $2 trillion and would be paid for by a surplus that may or may not be there when the bills come due. The President's tax cut relies on ten-year economic projections that are no more reliable than ten-year weather forecasts. I'm for tax cuts - but Governor Easley has sounded a cautionary note about what this plan could do to North Carolina's finances, and I believe we must make carefully thought-out decisions on questions of this magnitude.

"We should pass as much tax relief for middle class families as we can responsibly afford while addressing our most pressing priorities. North Carolina's priorities include meaningful tax relief, but North Carolina's priorities also include paying off our national debt, investing in research and development and expanding exports to bolster our leadership position in the emerging technology-dominated economy. And North Carolina's priorities include rewriting the failed Freedom to Farm Act to restore the farm safety net so that our family farmers can compete and win in a fair market.

"I stand ready to work with the president and my colleagues in Congress from both political parties to produce real results on North Carolina's priorities and to make America's schools the best in the world."

 

   
   
   
   

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