Thompson Responds to State of the Union Address

Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) released the following statement in reaction to the President's State of the Union Address tonight. Rep. Mike Thompson is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of fiscally responsible Democrats.

"The President is right, 2006 will be a decisive year. However, suggesting that we face a choice between ‘pursuing the enemies of freedom' or ‘retreating from our duties,' is not only unnecessarily divisive but also just plain wrong.

"On Monday night, I returned from a fact-finding trip to Iraq. Talking to our soldiers reconfirmed what many of us already knew. Our armed services are the best in the world and our men and women in uniform are doing an outstanding job. They have done their job. Now it is time for our government to do its job and begin to bring them home.

"The United States consumes 25% of the world's oil but holds only 3% of the world's oil reservesâ€"I've been citing this statistic for years. Stating that America is addicted to foreign oil is old news. Alternative energy technology is the cure for our addiction. Yet, President Bush only included $4.5 billion for alternative energy research while he included $12 billion in tax breaks for oil companies.

"I whole heartedly agree with the president, we need to invest in education and energy research. However, actions speak much louder than words. I hope that the president will follow up on his rhetoric with funding for science education and alternative energy research. Institutions like the Schatz Energy Lab at Humboldt State and the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis are leading the world in this research.

"President Bush must take ownership of his failed Medicare prescription drug benefit. To say that the federal government is providing health care for the poor and elderly while this drug plan is failing just widens the president's credibility gap.

"Earlier this month I held a series of town hall meetings. My constituents voiced concerns about the shortfalls of the Medicare drug benefit and the rising costs of health care.

"The president offered no solutions to these problems tonight. He is reviving the failed ‘ownership society' of last year's Social Security privatization debate and applying it to health care. He proposed band-aid solutions that do nothing to address the crux of health care cost increases or provide people with access to quality health care. Instead, the president's broad proposals shift additional costs onto beneficiaries and do nothing to reduce the ranks of the uninsured.

"The Country and Congress must begin an honest and open debate on an end to the war in Iraq, reducing our dependence on foreign oil and reforming our health care system. While the president discussed these issues tonight, it isn't clear whether or not he is willing to adequately address them."