Schumer: State of the Union has Both Bright Spots and Dry Patches for NY

SCHUMER: STATE OF THE UNION HAS BOTH BRIGHT SPOTS AND DRY PATCHES FOR NY

US Senator Charles E. Schumer said the President's State of the Union address last night was a mixed bag for New York. While the initiative to create a fuel cell-based car could yield new jobs and investment in the State, Schumer expressed concern about the initiative to reform Medicare by relying on HMOs. He also said that while he was pleased the President said that he had evidence on Iraq, he was disappointed that the nation would have to wait for Colin Powell to provide it until next week. Schumer issued this statement:

"Like an excellent trial lawyer, the President laid out his case in his opening argument, but has yet to present the actual evidence and I think the American people want to see the hard facts. With the stakes so high, I would have liked to heard more from him on that. Instead, the nation is waiting for Colin Powell to speak at the United Nations next week."

"I agree with the President that we need tax cuts to help stimulate the economy. I support the President's plan to increase the child tax credit and eliminate the marriage penalty this year, but this is not enough. The economy needs more stimulus pumped into it and now. The dividend cut will not have effect for years. I hope to work with the White House to improve the President's proposal. I support immediate tax cuts that go straight to the middle class. Waiting years for the benefits of a long-term tax cut won't give the economy the shot in the arm that it needs right now.

"I think everyone agrees that Medicare needs fixing but to tell to tell seniors that the only way they can get drug coverage is to put themselves in the loving hands of an HMO is not going to fly.

"The hydrogen-powered car initiative could be a major boon for New York. When President Bush talks about hydrogen-powered cars, he's talking about fuel cells; when you talk about fuel cells, you're talking about New York. We need to pool our resources to make New York the place where the hydrogen-powered car is invented. And when we succeed, we'll be the main pioneers of a technology that has the ability to answer so many of our country's energy needs. This new effort could really push New York over the top as our nation's leader in fuel cell research.

"The new Intelligence Center is an excellent idea and I look forward to working with the Administration to bring it to fruition. But I thought that the President should have laid out a much more detailed vision for homeland security. With the exception of bioterrorism and this new intelligence clearinghouse, the President didn't really get into the nuts and bolts of what we need to do to shore up our vulnerabilities. The fact is that this has been one area that has been woefully underfunded, from port security to first responders, and one of the things that I plan to do is work to reverse that trend. I hope the Administration will join me in that effort."