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(Washington, D.C.) Fourth District Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.) issued the
following statement Tuesday night in response to the President's State
of the Union Address:
“I do not believe the President’s priorities for 2004 reflect the priorities
of America’s children, working families, and seniors. Our economy is suffering,
and America’s working families are struggling more and more every day to
make ends meet. At a time when 8.4 million Americans are out of work, our
country is $7 trillion in debt, and we are spending a billion dollars a
week in Iraq with no end in sight, we must prioritize our spending -- not
treat our federal budget like a credit card with no spending limit.
"I have long believed that we must restore fiscal responsibility to
our government, and the President has severely neglected to do this. In
2001, at a time when our country was running a budget surplus, I supported
the President‘s tax cut. However, since then while our Nation has
suffered the 9/11 terrorist attacks on our people, fought two wars,
lost 3 million jobs, and experienced its largest budget deficit ever, the
Administration has continued to enact reckless tax cuts that have had dire
consequences on our economy. The combination of large budget deficits and
large trade deficits, are having severe impacts, and causing huge threats,
to our economy and our working families.
“Tonight the President proposed a new job-training program that, he
says, will prepare Americans for the growing number of technology-sector
jobs. I look forward to seeing his plan. But again, the Administration
must deliver on its promise. We cannot play games with America’s working
families. This Administration has continued to try to spin its losing record
on jobs into something positive, when the reality is, America has lost
3 million jobs in the past three years, including a million jobs to China.
And in Arkansas, we’ve lost 31,000 manufacturing jobs since this Administration
came to power, and have seen some of the highest unemployment rates in
a decade.
“There is no question our world has changed since September 11. While
I supported the President's request to authorize force in Iraq nearly a
year ago, I did so with the understanding -- and trust -- from the Administration
that Saddam possessed weapons of mass destruction, and the President would
enlist the help of other countries if Congress authorized force. But that
has not been the case. As a result, 500 American men and women in uniform
to date have lost their lives.
“The President said tonight that the ‘work of building a new Iraq is
hard, and it is right. And America has always been willing to do
what it takes for what is right.’ While that is true, we must also take
care of the problems we have here at home. We are spending billions and
billions of dollars "reconstructing" a nation while we continue to have
so many pressing needs here at home. If we can provide every Iraqi
citizen health care, we should do the same thing for the 44 million Americans
who lack health insurance in our own country. The President needs to push
for investments in America, not Iraq."
"The fact is, America is worse off today than it was a year ago.
I am confident our country can, and will, re-emerge and prosper again.
But to do so, our priorities must reflect the needs of working families,
not those of the special interests. Congress and the Administration must
work together in a bipartisan manner to implement meaningful policies and
solutions that provide real benefits to America's working families." |
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