House Democrats React to President’s Speech
WASHINGTON, Jan. 31-House Democrats from Massachusetts were largely critical of President George Bush’s State of the Union address last night, especially in regards to U.S. involvement in Iraq.
“The President failed to outline a realistic plan to bring our troops home,” U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern (D-Worcester), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement released before the address.
U.S. Rep. John W. Olver (D-Amherst) also was critical of Mr. Bush. “We certainly should not be ‘staying the course,’” Mr. Olver said in a statement before the speech. “Instead, the President needs to focus all of his efforts on successfully getting us out of Iraq.”
However, seventh-term U.S. Rep Marty Meehan (D-Lowell) welcomed the President’s call to end dependence on foreign oil. In an excerpt from the address released by the White House before the speech, Mr. Bush said, “America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from the unstable parts of the world. The best way to break this addiction is through technology.”
In a statement before the speech Mr. Meehan said, “For too long the administration’s proposals have been drilling, drilling, and more drilling. We can’t drill our way to energy independence, we have to invest in renewable sources that are clean, efficient, and affordable.”
Mr. McGovern, who was extremely critical of Republican tax cuts, said that the budget deficit is “exploding” and accused Mr. Bush of ignoring the “people who really need help.”
“He wants to make his tax cuts for the wealthy permanent, which is just crazy. Our deficit is exploding and the people who really need help, the people in the middle and those trying to get into the middle, are ignored by President Bush and his Republican allies in Congress,” said McGovern in his statement.
The President should seek to reach out a hand to the poor and not just the strong, said U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal (D-Springfield) in a telephone interview before the speech. “The President needs to spend a lot of time on the confusion surrounding the [Medicare] prescription drug bill.”
“The only people benefiting from the prescription drug benefit are the executives at the drug companies and insurance companies,” said Mr. McGovern.
Mr. Meehan also expressed concern over Mr. Bush’s health care proposal. “Our health care system is in need of reform, but I don’t know that the President’s proposal will really benefit average consumers,” said Mr. Meehan.
Mr. Olver, who serves on the House Appropriations Committee, said the Bush administration “should focus on securing our nation’s ports and energy infrastructure” instead of implementing a program of domestic spying.
“The President should seek a common ground on domestic spying,” said Mr. Neal, who is currently serving his ninth term in the House.
Mr. Olver said Mr. Bush had not done enough to prepare the country for emergency situations. “The administration’s response to Hurricane Katrina proved that, four years after September 11, 2001, our country is still not prepared to adequately respond to a terrorist attack,” he said. “And the New Orleans disaster was no surprise attack.”
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