U.S. Representative Towns' Response to the 2008 State of the Union Address

Statement

U.S. Representative Towns' Response to the 2008 State of the Union Address

"President Bush addressed the nation tonight in his final state of the union. He focused on many key issues facing Americans: the economy, the war in Iraq, healthcare and education. But yet he failed to address the stark realities underlying these issues.

My colleagues in Congress and the Bush Administration have worked together to craft an economic stimulus package aimed at helping hardworking Americans who struggle with the rising costs of gasoline and heating oil, the daily expenses of food, clothing and shelter, and the ever-increasing financial burdens of healthcare and college tuition. But tax rebates will not help those Americans who are not fortunate enough to have jobs to begin with, and an economic stimulus package will barely scratch the surface of the true economic woes facing millions of low-income Americans on a daily basis.

The President said he wants all Americans to have access to quality and affordable healthcare. Yet he continues to veto the State Children's Health Insurance Plan (S-CHIP), which would expand health insurance coverage to 6 million low-income children, under the guise that S-CHIP is socialized medicine. And worse yet, the Bush Administration refuses to provide healthcare to those brave and dedicated volunteers who selflessly gave their time and energy to recovery efforts after September 11th, and now suffer from debilitating illnesses. In fact, I recently held a hearing to address the failure of our healthcare system to meet the medical needs of these courageous volunteers, and not one representative from the Department of Health and Human Services appeared to testify as to why these heroes have been denied coverage.

President Bush says he wants to end the inclusion of wasteful earmark spending in Congress. What he doesn't say is that these cuts happen where money is needed the most -- money for LIHEAP that helps low-income Americans pay for heating oil; Medicaid funding for seniors; children's health insurance.

The President claims that No Child Left Behind is his crowning accomplishment, a bipartisan triumph that is increasing student achievement. But he fails to adequately fund the bill, and rather than rewarding schools, teachers and administrators that work tirelessly to meet the academic and social needs of our nation's children, No Child Left Behind continues to impose punitive financial sanctions on schools with budgets that already suffer from lack of adequate resources. Instead, this much needed money goes towards preserving tax cuts for the wealthiest one percent of Americans, in a system that gives tax breaks that are 100 times larger to millionaires than middle income families.

President Bush announced a plan to host the North American Summit of Canada, Mexico and the United States in New Orleans, Louisiana. But he fails to note the continued suffering that families are experiencing in New Orleans since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Hosting a summit will not help revitalize destroyed neighborhoods or rebuild homes for displaced residents to return to. Nor does it prevent the destruction of public housing developments in New Orleans that were not affected by the storm. I continue to be appalled by the President's outright neglect of the residents of New Orleans.

I do agree with President Bush when he says that our country must begin to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and seek out clean energy alternatives, including nuclear power. But we must go further than this. An America that doesn't rely on foreign oil must instate carbon cap and trade programs, and significantly increase research funding for new technologies that preserve our planet.

For these reasons, it is more important now than ever for my colleagues and in the 110th Congress to band together for what we know is right, and pass legislation that truly addresses the needs of all Americans. Rest assured that I will continue to devote all of my time and energy to reaching this goal."

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