Response to President Bush's State of the Union Address

RESPONSE TO PRESIDENT BUSH'S STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
2/2/2005

Washington, D.C.

President Bush's 2005 State of the Union address included plans that must be carefully considered in the year ahead.
Congressman Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso, released the following statement in response to President Bush's State of the Union address before Congress this evening:

"In his State of the Union address, the President opens by stating that we must 'build a better world for our children and grandchildren.' I couldn't agree more. The President laid out his plans for the future of Iraq, Social Security, education, homeland security and foreign policy. We must carefully consider each one to ensure they are in the best interests of our country and our future generations."

Social Security

"I have grave concerns about the President's proposal to privatize Social Security. First of all, there is no immediate Social Security crisis or cause for panic. No Social Security shortfall is predicted for 40 or 50 years.

"Second, privatizing Social Security would be breaking the promise we have made to future generations for a guaranteed benefit in their retirement. The President's proposal would take over $2 trillion from Social Security in the next ten years alone, jeopardizing the benefits of current retirees and cutting benefits for future retirees by more than 40 percent - even for those who choose not to set up a private account. We cannot build a better future for our children and grandchildren by dismantling the safety net our parents and grandparents worked so hard to build.

"Instead, we need to consider other, less drastic measures that will help ensure the long-term viability of Social Security without endangering retirement security for millions of Americans."

Iraq

"I agree with the President that the elections in Iraq were an important step in building a self-reliant Iraq, but am concerned that the White House has not laid out a clear plan for the future of the region. Thousands of our young men and women are still serving in this unstable and dangerous region - and will very likely be there for quite some time. When we undertook operations in Iraq, we underestimated many things, including the number of troops needed and the strength of the resistance movement. We cannot afford to repeat those mistakes as we plan for the future-the lives of our soldiers hang in the balance.

"The soldiers of today are the veterans of tomorrow. We must be committed to providing them and their families with the health care and benefits they have earned and deserve. As always, I will work for full funding for the Veterans Administration and veterans programs."

Border

"The President's State of the Union address virtually ignored the needs of the border region. In a speech emphasizing homeland security, the President overlooked the frontlines of our nation's defense. If he is serious about protecting our country, he needs to recognize the law enforcement, infrastructure and technology needs of the border region."

North Korea

"Following lengthy meetings with several high-level North Korean officials, my colleagues and I who recently traveled to North Korea were pleased to report that the North Korean government would return to the six-party talks to discuss their nuclear capabilities if and only if the U.S. government did not criticize them. With the ball in the Administration's court, I was encouraged that President Bush simply spoke working with other countries in Asia 'to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions.' This is an important step forward in our negotiations with the North Koreans."

http://wwwc.house.gov/reyes/news_detail.asp?id=754