Kennedy Statement on Bush Economic Speech Today

KENNEDY STATEMENT ON BUSH ECONOMIC SPEECH TODAY

Washington, DC- Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy released the following statement responding to President Bush's economic speech today:

As much as President Bush would like to change the subject in Washington away from impending criminal indictments, reality prevents him from doing so no matter how many speeches he gives. Hurricane Katrina demonstrated in stark terms that so many Americans live every day on the brink of economic disaster and for them any setback becomes a major obstacle to survival. 37 million Americans live in poverty, and millions more live one paycheck away from complete economic disaster as a result of the Bush economy. Yet not a single proposal in Bush's speech will help these Americans. He offered nothing to those who've lost their jobs over the last 5 years get back to work doing the jobs they've been trained to do. Instead, he's given up on today's workforce and, worse, he's broken his promise to the workforce of tomorrow by under funding the No Child Left Behind Act. Every where you look, Americans are feeling the squeeze of the Bush economy, as they spend 74 percent more on gas than they did at the beginning of 2001. Heating oil prices are expected to rise by 56 percent this winter, and President Bush has been asleep at the switch year after year while consumers pay the price for record oil company profits. Such rapid price increases will force consumers, especially the poor, to cut spending on clothing, health care and food just so they can get to work and keep warm this winter. The President's only answer for the sputtering economy is more tax relief for the wealthy. That's no answer when average Americans fall further and further behind. Today the President said that he believes the job of the President is to confront problems and not pass them on. After turning record surpluses into record deficits, adding four million to the number of Americans living in poverty, increasing our trade deficit by 30 billion, and putting America at greater risk by overextending our military, it seems that the President's beliefs are completely devoid of his own legacy.

http://kennedy.senate.gov/~kennedy/statements/05/10/2005A26A22.html