Matsui Calls for President's Actions to Match His Words
Matsui Calls for President's Actions to Match His Words
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Washington, DC - Congresswoman Doris O. Matsui (CA-5) issued the following statement on the President's State of the Union address this evening:
"The President fell short in his speech tonight - his words do not match the reality of his actions. The American people are facing skyrocketing health care costs, record gas prices and a dangerous and unsustainable fiscal deficit. Unfortunately, over the past five years the President failed to put forward plans to truly address these pressing challenges.
"While these Health Savings Accounts may be reasonable for some people, the President's health care proposals still fail to reign in costs or decrease the number of uninsured. In fact health savings accounts may actually increase the ranks of the uninsured. Congress could just as easily expand proven programs like SCHIP and Medicaid as the Democrats have proposed. These plans are already in place and would help immediately in covering a much larger segment of the uninsured.
"And the President spoke about the need to decrease our dependence on foreign oil, yet last year he signed an energy bill that brushed aside renewable energy sources and instead focused on subsidies for already-profitable energy companies. While the American people face record gas prices, the oil and gas industry announce records profits. Today, one company said its profits increased over 40% from the previous year.
"Further, the President asked Congress to make his tax cuts permanent, but more tax cuts will not help the trade deficit and they will not address stagnant wages for working Americans--they will only pull this nation deeper into debt. Even the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has said that tax cuts will cause further harm to our nation's already precarious fiscal situation.
"We should be making long-term investments in our nations future, instead of pushing more tax cuts and slashing the nations safety net. When the decision comes down to a tax cut or cuts to student loans, is there any question as to which is the higher priority?
"It's time for the Presidents priorities to reflect American's priorities."
http://matsui.house.gov/Newsroom.asp?ARTICLE2939=5868