Durbin Comments on the State of the Union
Statement
Durbin Comments on the State of the Union
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) tonight issued the following statement in reaction to President Bush's State of the Union address:
"The President came before Congress tonight and called for swift approval of a plan to get our faltering economy back on track. The bipartisan agreement on an economic stimulus package announced last week holds out hope for millions of Americans. Congress must now debate this plan, improve it where we can, and send it to the President as soon as possible. Passing this bill will take hard work and will require willingness to give and take, but this is serious business. The future of millions of American families and the health of our economy are on the line."
"A majority of Americans are asking for an end to the war in Iraq. Instead of laying out a plan to end a war that has resulted in the death of almost 4,000 American soldiers, the President offered the same ideas he has advocated year after year."
"The President says that we must empower American researchers and entrepreneurs to pioneer a new generation of clean energy technology. Everyone wants to reduce our reliance on imported oil and invest in renewable energy - especially the people of Mattoon, Illinois who have been waiting for the President's Energy Department to allow them to move forward with one of the most advanced clean energy projects of the decade - FutureGen."
"The President says he wants to reduce waste in Washington. Nobody likes wasteful spending. Nobody wants millions of dollars inserted into bills in the dark of night. But the right answer is to require full disclosure and transparency on all spending bills - exactly what the Democratic Congress did last year."
"The President's solution risks tossing good community-based projects out with the bathwater. Few in Illinois would argue the $200,000 we set aside for the Illinois Sheriffs Association to clean up methamphetamine production is wasteful, but bureaucrats in Washington might. And the $585,000 to improve rural and community health centers should not have to suffer because the President staff didn't specifically request the funding."
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