Blumenauer Responds to State of the Union Address

BLUMENAUER RESPONDS TO STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
Jan 20, 2004

Washington, DC - Congressman Earl Blumenauer issued the following statement in response to the President's address to Congress this evening.

"Tonight's State of the Union Speech failed to provide real leadership to unite the Congress and the American public. The President covered a lot of issues tonight, most of them likely to trigger divisive battles in Congress. Unfortunately, he failed to mention some of the most important things we can do that could unite this Congress.

"The President has repeated his pattern of putting a positive, political spin on issues of importance, and not addressing the difficulties or costs ahead. Not a single word was included about the environment, or the opportunity to put millions of Americans to work rebuilding our roads and infrastructure. We have bipartisan transportation legislation in the House that, with a little assistance from the President, could move through Congress and be on his desk in a matter of weeks, putting millions of Americans to work this year, while reducing congestion, decreasing air pollution and revitalizing our sluggish
economy.

"Sadly, the President has missed the opportunity to ask that the country and Congress work together in a more constructive fashion. Rather than providing a political blueprint, our nation needs leadership to make this country safer, healthier and more economically secure."