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Congressman John T. Salazar -- Defending Rural Values -- Third District of Colorado
  For immediate release  
  February 2, 2005  
 

Congressman Salazar Responds to State of the Union Speech

 
 

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman John Salazar today released the following statement in response to the President’s State of the Union speech:

“I came to Congress with a mission to defend rural values, so I identify with the President’s goal to preserve the values that make our society strong.

“Rural Colorado was built on the values of hard work, honesty, and integrity.  And as agricultural communities, our reliance on the soil under our feet and the sun over our head has taught us the value of managing our resources wisely.  To this day, we fight to protect our water, our land, and our individual liberties. These are values that we live by.

“This evening, the President recognized the brave men and women in our armed forces. Sons and daughters who understand the core values of hard work, honesty, and integrity. Soldiers who have taken an oath to defend this way of life.  It does not come without a price.  We have lost young men here at home.  They lay down their lives so the Iraqi people could know freedom and the power of their own voices. We owe a debt to these brave soldiers. We owe a debt to the families they left behind. I listened tonight hoping to hear the President talk about ways he would support these families and I urge him to support an increase in survivor’s benefits and the elimination of the military families’ tax, which unfairly reduces promised benefits.

“Like these young soldiers today, I joined the Army because I believe in the greatness of our country.  I felt a duty to serve and protect the freedoms and rights so many have died for – from the civil war to civil rights, we should never take these for granted.  As the President said, one of the main sources of our national unity is our belief in equal justice - the Constitution must remain a source of protecting, not limiting, our individual freedoms.

“In keeping with the preservation of individual liberties, states and communities must be empowered to control their own growth.  Unfunded federal mandates tie the hands of local communities from using resources as they see fit.  This is waste, this is heavy-handed government and it must be reigned in so communities can be run by those who know best.

“As a small business owner, I am concerned about the soaring cost of our deficit and our ability to meet our nation’s pressing needs.  Like any business, we must make budget decisions with our priorities and goals in mind. The President’s principles are clear – taxpayer dollars must be spent wisely, but Colorado must get its fair share.

“I agree with the President that we need Social Security reform, but we cannot rush into any plan. We cannot forget the lessons we learned from Enron. A retirement fund that relies on the stock market is simply not a secure benefit.  Creating private accounts will only hasten the demise of our Social Security trust fund. Haste makes waste and we must take what time we do have to make the right choice.

“For me, the right choice is the one that rings true with our rural values – rewarding hard work, honesty, and integrity. Honoring personal sacrifices. Keeping our commitment to working families. If we do not keep our promises, our words have no value. I look forward to working with the President to make sure that we keep our trust with the values of rural Colorado.”

 

 
 

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