February 01, 2005
“The President talked about his plan to privatize Social Security tonight and it’s important to recognize that he’s misleading America on Social Security, just like he did on Iraq. Social Security has problems that can be fixed with minor adjustments, but the President’s privatization scheme makes matters worse, not better. We just can’t afford a scheme that cuts benefits and turns a guaranteed benefit into a guaranteed gamble.
“I was disappointed the President did not mention the genocide that is taking place in Sudan. There is wide bipartisan support to end this carnage, and not mentioning it sends the wrong message to the world about his commitment to protecting human rights and ending genocide.
"The President talked about Iraq tonight. We all congratulate the Iraqis on their election Sunday and salute our troops placed in harm’s way. The election represents an important opportunity for the President to reevaluate his policy and to give the American people a detailed exit strategy. Hoping and being patient is not a strategy. If he is going to ask Congress and the American people for another $80 billion, he ought to spell out what the plan is to clean up the mess his administration has made, and get our troops home.
“It is also important to remember the high costs our nation will continue to pay for the Bush administration’s doctrine of preemptive war. It is not just that the immediate human and financial costs. We have alienated our traditional allies, undermined the security framework that has been relied on by Democrats and Republicans for more than 50 years, and established the destabilizing precedent that a nation can decide to invade another nation just because it claims that its security interests are threatened.
“I met with the President last week as part of the Congressional Black Caucus delegation, and we asked him to work with us on eliminating the continuing disparities faced by the African American community. It’s important that the President recognizes the disparate impact of HIV/AIDS on our community. African American women make up 67% of all new AIDS cases among women in the United States. In the past, the President's promises have failed to match his policies. If the President is serious about addressing HIV/AIDS in the African American community, the budget he will unveil next week will provide adequate funding for programs like the Minority AIDS Initiative.
“The President talked about the deficit and balancing the budget, and it is clear that he intends to balance it on the backs of the communities who can least afford it. Cutting housing and community development programs, just to name a few, in order to pay for tax cuts and war is not just morally wrong, it’s fiscally irresponsible because these programs impact the economic health of our communities.”
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Congresswoman Barbara Lee Responds to State of the Union
(Washington, DC) – Representative Barbara Lee offered the following statement in response to President Bush’s State of the Union address this evening:“The President talked about his plan to privatize Social Security tonight and it’s important to recognize that he’s misleading America on Social Security, just like he did on Iraq. Social Security has problems that can be fixed with minor adjustments, but the President’s privatization scheme makes matters worse, not better. We just can’t afford a scheme that cuts benefits and turns a guaranteed benefit into a guaranteed gamble.
“I was disappointed the President did not mention the genocide that is taking place in Sudan. There is wide bipartisan support to end this carnage, and not mentioning it sends the wrong message to the world about his commitment to protecting human rights and ending genocide.
"The President talked about Iraq tonight. We all congratulate the Iraqis on their election Sunday and salute our troops placed in harm’s way. The election represents an important opportunity for the President to reevaluate his policy and to give the American people a detailed exit strategy. Hoping and being patient is not a strategy. If he is going to ask Congress and the American people for another $80 billion, he ought to spell out what the plan is to clean up the mess his administration has made, and get our troops home.
“It is also important to remember the high costs our nation will continue to pay for the Bush administration’s doctrine of preemptive war. It is not just that the immediate human and financial costs. We have alienated our traditional allies, undermined the security framework that has been relied on by Democrats and Republicans for more than 50 years, and established the destabilizing precedent that a nation can decide to invade another nation just because it claims that its security interests are threatened.
“I met with the President last week as part of the Congressional Black Caucus delegation, and we asked him to work with us on eliminating the continuing disparities faced by the African American community. It’s important that the President recognizes the disparate impact of HIV/AIDS on our community. African American women make up 67% of all new AIDS cases among women in the United States. In the past, the President's promises have failed to match his policies. If the President is serious about addressing HIV/AIDS in the African American community, the budget he will unveil next week will provide adequate funding for programs like the Minority AIDS Initiative.
“The President talked about the deficit and balancing the budget, and it is clear that he intends to balance it on the backs of the communities who can least afford it. Cutting housing and community development programs, just to name a few, in order to pay for tax cuts and war is not just morally wrong, it’s fiscally irresponsible because these programs impact the economic health of our communities.”
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