Members of Congress React to State of the Union Speech
SPEECH
New Bedford Standard-Times
Valerie Sullivan
Boston University Washington News Service
January 23, 2007
WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 —Massachusetts members of Congress criticized President George W. Bush’s State of the Union address last night, specifically his proposals on energy and the war in Iraq.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) welcomed the president’s call to make health care a priority but expressed disappointment in the proposals, calling them “an opportunity missed.”
“They will not improve access to good coverage, and won’t help working families afford the spiraling cost of health care,” Sen. Kennedy said in a statement released prior to the speech.
James P. McGovern (D-Mass.) was skeptical of the president’s proposed alternative energy sources, emphasizing the importance of actions over words. “Any comprehensive solution to the climate crisis needs to involve enforceable means of creating alternative energy.”
Rep. McGovern called the president’s national security spending a squandering of billions of dollars on a war that is not worth fighting.
“Think about what you could do with the $500 billion this president has spent on Iraq. Think about what you could do for health care. Think about what you could do about finding alternative energy,” Rep. McGovern said.
Of the president’s proposed tax cuts and subsidies for big oil companies, Rep. McGovern said, “That’s not helping anything.”
“You need to do more than talk the talk. You need to walk the walk in this country,” Rep. McGovern said.
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) was in flight to Davos, Switzerland, to attend the 2007 World Economic Forum, and could not be reached for comment, according to his press secretary.
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