[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 27 (Thursday, February 13, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E212]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            BAIT AND SWITCH

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 12, 2003

  Mr. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I submit the following article to be 
included in the Record:

                [From The New York Times, Jan. 30, 2003]

                            Bait and Switch

                            (By Bob Herbert)

       President Bush has learned how to deliver a moving speech. 
     But Tuesday night's State of the Union Message did not 
     address the most important question facing the American 
     people: What kind of nation are we becoming?
       The president spoke passionately about bringing ``food and 
     medicines and supplies and freedom'' to the Iraqi people. But 
     he is leading a hard-right administration here at home that 
     is seriously eroding the economic security, the access to 
     health care, the civil rights and civil liberties and the 
     environmental protections of the American people. The first 
     part of the president's speech was crafted to create exactly 
     the opposite impression. He promised an economy ``that grows 
     fast enough to employ every man and woman who seeks a job.'' 
     He proposed a prescription drug benefit for some retirees. 
     And he said he was ready to commit $1.2 billion to research 
     into environmentally friendly hydrogen-powered automobiles.
       But those were largely bait-and-switch proposals. Despite 
     rising unemployment, the president's plan for the economy was 
     simply a continuation of his tax-cut mania. There was nothing 
     in the way of a job-creation program or a real economic 
     stimulus. And there was absolutely zero help offered to the 
     states and local governments whose budgetary knees are 
     buckling under the weight of their worst fiscal crisis since 
     World War II.
       The president's prescription drug benefit, tempting at 
     first glance, is tied to a restructuring of Medicare that 
     will curtail, not enhance, the delivery of health services to 
     the elderly. It was designed to look like an act of 
     compassion. It's not.
       The hydrogen cars initiative was a particularly deft touch 
     for a president who has been hammered for his environmental 
     policies. Hydrogen-powered autos could make a difference in 
     the long term, say 20 or 30 years from now, or more. But what 
     is much more significant is that Mr. Bush has stood like a 
     rock with the opponents of increased fuel efficiency for the 
     cars we're driving right now. The payoff for immediately 
     improving vehicle fuel economy would be huge. In addition to 
     saving money for motorists, it would cut pollution, curtail 
     our contribution to the greenhouse effect and reduce our 
     dependence on foreign oil.
       We heard nothing about that in the speech.
       The Bush administration is changing the nation in 
     fundamental ways. However one feels about a U.S.-led invasion 
     of Iraq, over the long term a bullying, go-it-alone foreign 
     policy wedded to a military doctrine of preemption is a 
     recipe for destabilization and paranoia around the world. And 
     despite its professed commitment to compassionate policies at 
     home, the administration's obsession with tax cuts is proving 
     destructive on two fronts: It is draining the nation's 
     coffers of money for social programs (including Medicare and 
     Social Security), and blocking any real attempt to invest in 
     a range of programs and infrastructure initiatives that are 
     crucial to the nation's long-term future.
       Some of those programs relate directly to domestic 
     security. These issues get short shrift in an atmosphere of 
     imminent war. But I doubt that this is the kind of country 
     most Americans want. And we are already beginning to pay the 
     price. Local taxes are soaring and services are breaking 
     down.
       On the night of the president's speech, the governor of New 
     Jersey, James McGreevey, announced that he would be cutting 
     state aid to colleges and universities by 10 percent because 
     of a $5 billion state budget gap, In Connecticut, nearly 
     3,000 state workers have been laid off and Gov. John Rowland 
     said another 1,000 needed to go. In some states the public 
     school week is being curtailed. In some, prisoners are being 
     furloughed.
       These are telling indications of the real state of the 
     union. As the most powerful nation on earth, and the world's 
     only superpower, the United States has a particular 
     obligation to use its might wisely abroad and to distribute 
     its benefits fairly at home. That is not an easy mission for 
     a hard-right-wing administration, which is why the Bush 
     administration puts such a premium on the rhetoric of 
     compassion.
       Behind the veil of rhetoric is a Darwinian political 
     philosophy that, if clearly understood, would repel the 
     majority of Americans. http://www.nytimes.com.

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