NH Members Applaud Bush, State of the Union Address
WASHINGTON, Jan. 29–New Hampshire congressional members praised President Bush’s State of the Union address last night and expressed support for his foreign and domestic policy initiatives.
Sen. Bob Smith, R-N.H., who is the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a Vietnam veteran, said he was particularly interested in what Bush had to say on national defense and foreign policy issues.
“An important issue was that of a pay raise for the military and replacing these precision weapons and old aircraft that are depleting and have a lot of wear and tear on equipment,” said Smith, who recently returned from an extended tour of Central Asia. “I saw that when I was in Afghanistan, when one of the engines went out,” said Smith of an incident in which the C-130 plane he was flying in lost one of its four engines.
For Smith, the war on terrorism trumps domestic concerns.
“When your homeland is attacked as we were then you rally behind your President,” he said. “Other issues don’t rise to the level of national security and homeland security of the United States.”
“When lives are on the line, national security is first and foremost, and domestic security has to follow. You can’t have Social Security and jobs and protection if we’re at war,” Smith added.
Bush acknowledged Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., in his speech for Gregg’s efforts on education reform. Gregg was also a principal negotiator on the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
In a statement, Gregg said, “I obviously also appreciate his kind acknowledgement of my efforts that developed bipartisan proposals such as the education bill.”
First District Congressman John Sununu, R-N.H., viewed Bush’s domestic budget policy as a key factor in the national address, including a potential increase in federal funding for special education in New Hampshire.
Second District Congressman Charles Bass, R-N.H., said, “I think special education will be addressed in his budget. We’re going to see not only a significant increase in special education funding but a reauthorization of special education which will make it work better,” Bass said.
Sununu agreed with the Bush Administration’s plan to implement controversial tax cuts without postponement.
“The middle of a recession is the worst possible time to raise taxes. If we override last year’s legislation it will undermine consumer confidence in policymakers, and will only make the recession worse,” Sununu said.
Rep. Raymond Buckley, New Hampshire House Democratic Whip, found Bush’s speech lacking on issues of importance to New Hampshire citizens, such as education, retirement funds, and unemployment benefits.
“We heard a lot on homefront security, but economic security got the short shrift. I hope he’s not reading from the same script his Dad did, because at that time New Hampshire’s situation suffered greatly,” Buckley said.
Chris Coates, a Keene City Councilor, agreed with Bush’s defense priorities but found the address lacked specific ideas on domestic issues.
“New Hampshire is in a recession at this point and people are losing jobs, and on the domestic side we need to see how our President is going to address these issues,” Coates said.
Published in The Keene Sentinel, in New Hampshire
