[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 20, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H16-H17]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Foley) for allowing me to have this unanimous consent and let me 
commend the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus for having this 
special order dealing with some of the very trying problems of our 
time.
  In this new millennium, we will face many hurdles and we are going to 
hear the first the State of the Union address tonight. But today I 
would like to rise this afternoon to discuss the true state of the 
Union as it is, not as we would like it to be. We have our true land 
and then there is wonderland. And it is great in wonderland because all 
things are nice and we have the road that leads to all good things.
  However, the true state of the Nation is more grim. It is time to 
face reality. There are too many people in our Nation who are still 
struggling. They are not enjoying the benefits that have been awarded 
to the more privileged among us. While the White House tries to put the 
best face on the economy, the fact is that we have lost about 2.5 
million jobs in the last 2 years. Long-term unemployment is at a 20-
year high.
  While the wealthiest Americans enjoy the benefits of tax cuts, which 
was tilted their way, millions of Americans continue to live paycheck 
to paycheck, although the unemployment rate has dropped .1 percent. 
There are more people unemployed this month than were last month 
because thousands and thousands have dropped out of the hunt for a job 
because of the long-term unemployment. And they have just given up, 
they have fallen out.

                              {time}  1430

  So the unemployment rate is not even a true reflection of what is 
going on. The response of the Bush administration to this inequity is 
to make lopsided tax cuts permanent.
  Our friends across the aisle who used to rail against budget deficits 
only a few years ago are now willing to overlook the largest, most 
alarming budget deficit in the history of this great Nation.
  Under former-President Clinton's budget policies, we amassed a 
healthy budget surplus, which has now been totally squandered. We used 
to talk about mortgaging our children's futures. We do not hear that 
anymore.
  What this means is that resources that can be channeled into positive 
action to address such key problems as jobs, health care, education, 
housing are no longer available. They have been drained by the 
irresponsible tax cuts for the very wealthy in our Nation.
  The state of the Union today is weaker in many other ways. Racial 
disparities in health care continue to take a toll on minorities. Yet 
the administration's response to this national health crises is to 
sweep it under the carpet.
  The Washington Post reported last week that a Federal report on 
racial disparities was rewritten for the first time in our history by 
the Department

[[Page H17]]

of Health and Human Services to hide the fact that minorities in our 
Nation receive inferior health care for a wide range of diseases. In 
fact, the final draft of what was supposed to be a scientific study 
dropped the detailed descriptions of health disparities and removed a 
reference to national problems. This is a serious matter because 
studies have shown that even among patients with identical diseases and 
similar income levels, minorities are less likely to receive the same 
quality of care for diseases including cancer, diabetes, heart 
problems, AIDS, and other illnesses.
  As our colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman), pointed 
out, the first draft of the ``Health Care Racial Disparity Report'' 
mentioned the word disparity 30 times in the key-finding section, while 
the final version mentioned the word only twice and then even failed to 
define it.
  As a member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, I 
remain concerned about inequities in education of our children. This 
marks the 50th anniversary of the historic Brown v. the Board of 
Education decision which banned segregation in schools. Yet, the fact 
is that our schools have not reached the goal of racial integration. 
About one-third of African American students go to schools that are 90 
to 100 percent African American. About 70 percent attend schools that 
are composed primarily of minority students. We need strong leadership 
at the top to reverse this trend and to really leave no child behind 
and to ensure access to a quality education for all of our students.
  We are one Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice 
for all; and we need to make that plan and dream a reality.
  Mr. Speaker, we can only make our country stronger and we are better 
if we are willing to examine the real state of the Union and seek real 
solutions to our problems.
  I hope we can pull together and address these issues so that we can 
begin to move forward again in crucial areas including the economy, 
health care, and education.

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