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Statement of Senator Jeffords, Second Anniversary of Decision to Leave the GOP
On issue after issue the Bush Administration is not what it claims to be. Since coming into office, the President has dragged the Republican Party into short-sighted positions that maximize short-term gain while neglecting the long-term needs of families and the nation. . . . In place of thoughtful policy we now have superficial and cynical sound-bites. Instead of confronting pressing national problems, our President lands airplanes while Rome burns. . . . While our troops search for W-M-D's in Iraq--we have found our own W-M-D's right here in Washington - at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. They are President Bush's weapons of mass distortion, or better distraction. The Bush Administration says one thing and does another to take the focus off the present realities. . . . Does he think we don't notice? . . . I am pleased to see calls for Congressional investigations to determine whether the President manipulated intelligence information to build support for the war. Why the hurry to invade a country and use military force in such an unprecedented manner? Where was the imminent threat to the United States? And where are the weapons of mass destruction? . . . the President promised the world that the US had a plan in place to rebuild that nation. But it quickly became apparent that there was no plan. While our military guarded the oilfields, we showed no compassion for the Iraqi people as we allowed their national treasures to be looted. All we see now is growing unrest with the US presence in Iraq. . . . In reality we are now in the longest period of continued job loss since the Great Depression. Since the beginning of this Bush Administration, 2.7 million private sector jobs have been lost and the number of unemployed Americans has increased by over 45 percent. In the first three months of this year alone, America has lost another half-million jobs. President Bush has said his tax plan is a "jobs growth package." But the only thing guaranteed to grow is the federal budget deficit. . . . He says one thing and does another. Does he think we don't notice? . . . tax cuts will widen the gap between rich and poor. These tax cuts help those who need it least and do nothing for those who need it most. . . . One of the most disturbing effects of the economic downturn is the lack of state and federal funding for our educational system - where States are laying off teachers, cutting school days and eliminating early childhood programs - most of which have only just started. The President's advisors tell him to endlessly repeat "No Child Left Behind." . . . As the President pushes tax cut after tax cut, his Administration still can not find the funding to fulfill the federal government's commitment to special education - where we still fall $12 billion short on a commitment we made to the States more than 25 years ago . . . A recent New York Times report noted that combined budget deficits for 50 states are estimated to be between $52 billion and $82 billion, and the schools are taking the worst hit. . . . If this wasn't all bad enough, we learned last week that the U.S. Department of Education plans to spend a half-million dollars - yes, a half-million dollars! - on a public relations campaign aimed at quieting the critics of No Child Left Behind. . . . From the beginning, this Administration has relaxed environmental laws through de-regulation and lack of enforcement, and put forward legislative proposals long on public relations and short on substance. What Americans really need now is relief from air pollution, and swift and serious action to avert global warming. We have a right to breathe air that is not contaminated by pollution. At a minimum, we have a right to full and vigorous implementation of laws already on the books, such as the Clean Air Act. . . . This Bush Administration has put forward a plan mislabeled "Clear Skies." This bill weakens or eliminates current clean air programs, accelerates global warming, and saves only one-third of the lives that could be saved by the Clean Power Act. Worse, the Administration bill takes 20 years before its reduction targets are achieved. . . . What makes the actions of the Bush Administration so troublesome is the lack of honesty. . . . It amounts, in the end, to a pattern of deception and distortion; ultimately that does not respect the wisdom of the American people.

posted by LoZo 4:38 PM