It’s time for those New Year’s resolutions and both President Bush and Democrats in Congress have a few to share with the American people. What better way to do it than their weekly radio addresses.
Bush, for instance, has resolved to do something about “wasteful earmark spending.” “In the last election, congressional leaders ran on a promise that they would reform earmarks,” he said. “They made some progress but not nearly enough.” He said he is reviewing options he can take as president to curtail “special-interest items that are slipped into big spending bills like … often at the last hour, without discussion or debate.”
Bush also vowed to submit a budget in February that will restrain spending, keep taxes low and move the nation toward a balanced budget.
On the Democratic side, freshman Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York outlined “a vision to build America’s greatness.” Among other things, the agenda includes a push toward energy independence, advancements in technology that can create jobs, economic policies aimed at helping the middle class, changes to the education and healthcare systems, and efforts to secure the nation against attacks.
“I truly believe that all good things are possible when the American people are heard,” she said.
“Volunteer voters” disillusioned by the current state of the GOP may stay home and cost Republicans more losses in the 2008 election, Rep. Steven Pearce said in a wide-ranging interview with Heading Right Radio.
“We are fighting for who the party is,” Pearce, a Minnesota Republican, told Minnesota-based blogger and BlogTalkRadio political director Ed Morrissey.
Other subjects covered in the interview included spending earmarks by Congress and energy policy. Pearce predicted that the energy bill that Congress cleared this week, including the mandatory increase in fuel-efficiency standards, will hurt the country.
“I did not have to vote against my constituents, so we voted ‘no’ on the energy bill,” he said.
If all goes as planned, the first session of the 110th Congress will end next week, but Congress still hasn’t finalized emergency funding for U.S. troops in Iraq and Afganistan. That reality continues to irritate President Bush.
“Congress has had plenty of time to consider the emergency funds our troops need. Time is running out,” Bush said in his weekly radio address. “And Pentagon officials say that continued delay in funding our troops will soon begin to have a damaging impact on the operations of our military. Congress’ responsibility is clear: They must deliver vital funds for our troops — and they must do it before they leave for Christmas.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California focused on a completely different subject in the Democratic address: energy legislation passed by her chamber. She touted provisions to improve fuel-efficiecy standards for vehicles and to foster the U.S. biofuels industry, among other things. The goal is to make the United States less dependent on foreign oil as an energy source.
“Our energy bill will strengthen our national security, protect consumers from spiraling energy prices, create jobs, and meet our moral obligation to preserve our planet for future generations,” Pelosi said. “It will tell the world that America is prepared to become a leader in addressing the global climate crisis.”
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney granted an interview to technology blogger Michael Arrington of TechCrunch today. They discussed a few tech policy topics, including tech growth policies, Internet taxes, H-1B visas for high-skilled workers, venture-capital tax issues and renewable energy.
You can read the transcript at TechCrunch or listen to the interview.
A new report of 46,000 job losses in manufacturing in August is “devastating news,” especially on top of the 3 million jobs lost since 2000, according to the National Association of Manufacturers. NAM President John Engler blamed the declines on “a cost strructure that’s out of control.”
“Thirty-two percent higher costs in this country, decisions not made in Beijing or Brussels but here at home, the lax of an energy strategy, a tax burden that’s the highest of the developed world, regulatory and legal litigation costs out of control — those are polilcy choices that have to be addressed,” Engler said. “Regardless of who’s controlled the Congress or even who’s been in the White House, we have not been aggressive as a nation in facing up.”
Subscribe to RSS