The Associated Press President George W.
Bush delivers his address to a joint session of the 107th
Congress at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday.
By David Drucker
Daily Bruin Reporter
President George W. Bush presented his budget proposal to
Congress Tuesday night in a speech that criticized not only big
government, but non-responsive government as well.
In another departure from typical Republican rhetoric, the
president acknowledged the “vestiges of racism” and
“persistent poverty” often mentioned by Democrats to
underscore the need for a strong federal bureaucracy and government
spending.
“An artist using statistics as a brush could paint two
very different pictures of our country,” Bush said.
“One would have warning signs … and another would be full
of blessings.”
Speaking from the House of Representatives chamber on Capitol
Hill, Bush laid out a 10-year fiscal plan that included spending
increases in areas as diverse as Medicare, the military and
taxes.
He called education his “top priority,” and asked
the legislature to add an additional $5 billion to the current
education spending over the next five years.
“I like teachers so much, I married one,” Bush said.
He announced that his wife Laura has already begun a nationwide
campaign to recruit qualified teachers and “promote sound
teaching practices and early reading skills.”
The president offered Medicare funding to the tune of $238
billion for the fiscal year of 2002, which he said would fund all
existing programs and include a new prescription drug benefit for
low income seniors.
“My budget puts a priority on access to health
care,” Bush said.
He explained that his budget proposes tax credits that people
can use to buy health insurance, and added his intention to double
the amount of people who currently work at community health care
centers in low income neighborhoods.
But despite Bush’s focus on these traditionally liberal
objectives, his speech was devoted in large part to appealing
directly to the American people to support his 10-year, $1.6
trillion tax cut.
“Unrestrained government spending is a dangerous road to
deficits, so we must take a different path. The other choice it to
let the American people spend their own money to meet their own
needs …” Bush said.
“I hope you will join me and stand firmly on the side of
the people,” continued Bush, to thundering applause from the
GOP and sporadic enthusiasm from Democrats.
The President also announced his intention to reform social
security by allowing younger workers to invest their funds in
private accounts.