Markey Awaits Final Bush State of the Union Speech

News from Ed Markey

United States Congress Massachusetts Seventh District

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Israel Klein (202) 225-2836

January 20, 2004

MARKEY AWAITS FINAL BUSH STATE OF THE UNION SPEECH

WASHINGTON - Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA), a senior member of the House Energy and
Commerce Committee, released the following statement in anticipation of President Bush's final
State of the Union speech:

"Over 500 American troops have been killed in Iraq, thousands more permanently injured, with
no end to our occupation yet in sight. Meanwhile, we don't appear to have been able to secure
Afghanistan from Al Qaeda terrorists or their Taliban supporters. As the recent Orange Alert
demonstrates, Osama bin Laden and his senior lieutenants are still at large and still planning
further attacks on America.

"Here at home, three million Americans have lost their jobs since President Bush took office.
Two million and four hundred thousand more Americans have no health care since President
Bush's first State of the Union Address. Companies are being allowed to flee their American
headquarters for the sandy beaches of Bermuda and fleece American taxpayers in the process.
Still other companies are being permitted to send their jobs - high and low paying-abroad to
countries with few or no labor standards.

"The President says he wants to boost NASA spending by $1 billion a year in order to take us to
places where man has never traveled before. But he's already done that, by blasting off into the
outer reaches of fiscal space with budget deficits from another galaxy. Who needs to go to the
Red Planet when we're already in the red here on earth?

"The American people deserve the truth and I hope that President Bush will be able to answer
some questions for them tonight. Where are the Iraqi weapons of mass destruction that we were
told about in last year's State of the Union address? Why did the Administration put the war
against Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda on the backburner to pursue an unnecessary war against
Iraq? Why did the Administration allow a scheme to provide massive tax cuts for the wealthiest
Americans, take the federal budget from surplus to deficit, and threaten the long-term viability of
the Social Security and Medicare trust funds? When will the Administration stop rolling back
environmental protections on clean air and clean water and focus on reducing oil and gas
consumption?

"The State of our Union is significantly worse than it was when President Bush gave his first
State of the Union address, due largely to the Bush Administration's failed and extreme tax,
regulatory, and fiscal policies. It appears that it will take a new Administration if we are to chart
a course that will restore America's domestic economy and our international standing."