Rep. Peter A. DeFazio
Fourth Congressional District
Tonight, the president set many lofty goals, but his plans to reach those goals fell woefully short. Oregonians should look beyond his words to his deeds.
He talked about cutting the deficit and restoring fiscal responsibility. I agree that there are wasteful government programs that can be trimmed, starting with his trillion-dollar manned mission to Mars.
But that alone won’t fix the large and growing deficit our country faces. Congress needs to revisit the president’s tax cuts for the wealthiest among us. In a time of war, the president should have called for shared sacrifice.
He discussed stabilizing Social Security for future generations, yet his privatization plan worsens the program’s fiscal condition, slashes benefits and borrows trillions, saddling our children and grandchildren with growing debt.
I’m disappointed the president used words like “bankruptcy” to describe the financial future of Social Security. That simply isn’t true. He’s using the same threat of imminent crisis he employed to convince Americans of the danger from Iraq’s supposed weapons of mass destruction.
Social Security is a widely popular and successful program that not only provides retirement benefits but acts as an insurance policy offering disability and survivor’s benefits to millions of Americans, including 3.5 million children. Social Security is not in crisis. It is fundamentally sound and can remain so forever with only modest changes.
In the next few days you will hear more details about the president’s privatization plan for Social Security, but listen carefully. He likely won’t explain the true impact of his proposals.
Here’s a clear picture, his privatization plan will result in benefit cuts of up to 50 percent; trillions of dollars in new borrowing for decades, much of it from foreign countries; large financial risks shifted onto individuals; and the elimination of the guaranteed, no-risk, inflation-protected insurance offered by Social Security to protect against poverty, disability and death. Look beyond his words to his actions.
Finally, the president discussed Iraq. Regrettably, nearly two years after the United States first invaded, the president did not take the opportunity to provide a concrete plan or timeline for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.
With the recent elections in Iraq and the establishment of a new government, it is an ideal time to signal to the Iraqi people that the United States has no long-term designs on their country, and it’s time to propose an orderly transition to Iraqi rule, not just rhetorically but in reality.
We owe it to the American people, the Iraqis and most of all to the men and women serving honorably in a difficult situation.