Leaders of the Democratic Party echoed President
Bush in appreciative recognition of U.S. military forces
for their courage and sacrifice in bringing democracy to
Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as providing humanitarian
assistance to tsunami victims.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate
Minority Leader Harry Reid, during a February 2 televised
message to the nation, delivered their party's response
to the president's State of the Union address. In the response,
they stressed the difference between their approach to current
challenges and that of the Republican Party. The opposition
party traditionally makes such a response to the American
people after a president's annual State of the Union address.
Pelosi, speaking on national security, said
Democrats believe three key steps would help to stabilize
Iraq:
-- make training of Iraqi security forces
the top priority of the U.S. military;
-- accelerate Iraq's economic development
by providing Iraqis with jobs rebuilding their country by
using the billions of reconstruction dollars provided by
Congress; and
-- intensify diplomacy in the region.
"If these three steps are taken, the
next election in Iraq, scheduled for December, can be held
in a more secure atmosphere with broader participation and
a much smaller American presence," she said.
Pelosi also said the country must step up
its efforts to close the security gaps exposed by the September
11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Working internationally to secure weapons
of mass destruction is another Democratic priority. "We
can and we must keep the world's most gruesome weapons out
of the world's most dangerous hands," she said.
Reid expressed his party's disagreement
with Bush's Social Security reform plan and the president's
approach to other domestic issues but said "if the
president is willing to join hands and build from the center"
much good could be accomplished for the country.
Following is the text of their remarks:
(begin text)
The Democrats' Response to the State of
the Union Address
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, and
House of Representatives Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
Washington, D.C.
February 2, 2005
Senator Reid: Good evening. I'm Harry Reid
from Nevada, the new Democratic Leader in the United States
Senate. Now that you've heard from the President, I appreciate
your spending a few minutes with us as we give our views
on how we can live up to the American promise.
I was born and raised in the high desert
of Nevada in a tiny town called Searchlight. My dad was
a hard rock miner. My mom took in wash. I grew up around
people of strong values -- even if they rarely talked about
them.
They loved their country, worshiped God,
never shunned hard work, and never asked for special favors.
My life has been very different from what I imagined growing
up, but no matter how far I've traveled, Searchlight is
still the place I go back to and still the place I call
home.
A few weeks ago, I joined some friends of
mine for a bite to eat at The Nugget -- Searchlight's only
restaurant. We were sitting down in a booth, when a young
boy, about 10 years old, named Devon walked up to us.
Carrying a skateboard under his arm, he
said, "Senator Reid, when I grow up I want to be just
like you."
Well, the truth is Devon could probably
do a lot better. But the point still holds, and it is this:
no one ever had to tell young Devon to dream big dreams;
no one ever had to teach him that America is a place of
possibility.
He knows those things because they are born
deep in all Americans. In the coming year, I believe we
can make sure America lives up to its legacy as a land of
opportunity if the president is willing to join hands and
build from the center.
It's important that we succeed. It's time
that America's government lived by the same values as America's
families. It's time we invested in America's future and
made sure our people have the skills to compete and thrive
in a 21st-century economy. That's what Democrats believe.
That's where we stand. That's what we'll fight for.
Too many of the President's economic policies
have left Americans and American companies struggling. And
after we worked so hard to eliminate the deficit, his policies
have added trillions to the debt -- in effect, a "birth
tax" of $36,000 on every child that is born.
We Democrats have a different vision: Spurring
research and development in new technologies to help create
the jobs of the future. Rolling up our sleeves and fighting
for today's jobs by ending the special tax breaks that encourage
big corporations to ship jobs overseas. A trade policy that
enforces the rules of the road so that we play to win in
the global marketplace instead of sitting by and getting
played for fools.
After World War II, through the Marshall
Plan, we rebuilt Europe and they went from poverty to an
economic powerhouse. Today, we need to invest in our nation's
future with a Marshall Plan for America -- to build the
infrastructure our economy needs to go -- and grow. President
Eisenhower did that in the 1950s with the interstate highways.
National investment created the Internet in the 1970s. We
need to build the next economy -- and we need to start now.
This 21st -century economy holds great promise
for our people. But unless we give all Americans the skills
they need to succeed, countries like India and China will
take good-paying jobs that should be ours. From early childhood
education, to better elementary and high schools, to making
college more affordable to training workers so they can
get better jobs, Democrats believe every American should
have a world-class education and the skills they need in
a world-wide economy.
Health care costs have shot up double-digits
year after year of the Bush administration and that's costing
us jobs, costing us our competitiveness, and costing families
their peace of mind. We need to make health care and prescription
drugs affordable for all so that our families and our small
businesses will no longer have to shoulder this dead weight.
Good, new jobs. World-class education. Affordable
health care. These things matter. Unfortunately, much of
what the president offered weren't real answers.
You know, today is Groundhog Day. And what
we saw and heard tonight was a little like that movie, Groundhog
Day. The same old ideology that we've heard before -- over
and over again. We can do better.
I want you to know that when we believe
the President is on the right track, we won't let partisan
interests get in the way of what's good for the country.
We will be first in line to work with him. But when he gets
off track, we will be there to hold him accountable.
And that's why we so strongly disagree with
the President's plan to privatize Social Security. Let me
share with you why I believe the President's plan is so
dangerous. There's a lot we can do to improve American's
retirement security, but it's wrong to replace the guaranteed
benefit that Americans have earned with a guaranteed benefit
cut of 40 percent or more. Make no mistake, that's exactly
what President Bush is proposing.
The Bush plan would take our already record
high $4.3 trillion national debt and put us another $2 trillion
in the red. That's an immoral burden to place on the backs
of the next generation.
But maybe most of all, the Bush plan isn't
really Social Security reform. It's more like Social Security
roulette. Democrats are all for giving Americans more of
a say and more choices when it comes to their retirement
savings. But that doesn't mean taking Social Security's
guarantee and gambling with it. And that's coming from a
Senator who represents Las Vegas. Sometimes important questions
like Social Security or the economy or education get reduced
to dollars and cents or competing policies and political
parties. But really, these are questions that are about
old-fashioned moral values that don't get talked about much
in Washington, but matter so much to our country. Are we
willing to do right by our parents and care for our children?
Do we believe that big corporations with powerful lobbyists
should get special favors and that the wealthiest should
get special tax breaks? Or do we believe we are all God's
children and that each of us should get a fair shot and
each of us deserves a say in our future? Will we be able
to tell young people like Devon back in Searchlight that
America is still the land of the open road and that you
can travel that open road to the place of your choice?
Even after the President's speech, the American
people are still asking these questions. You can be sure
that Democrats will continue to offer real answers in the
months ahead.
Now, I'd like to turn things over to my
colleague, the great leader of House Democrats, Nancy Pelosi.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi: Throughout
our nation's history, hope and optimism have defined the
American spirit. With pride and determination, every generation
has passed on a stronger America than the one it inherited.
Our greatest responsibility is to leave our children a world
that is safer and more secure.
As House Democratic Leader, I want to speak
with you this evening about an issue of grave concern --
the national security of our country.
Any discussion of our national security
must begin with recognition and respect for our men and
women in uniform. Whether they are fighting in Iraq and
Afghanistan, or delivering humanitarian aid to the victims
of the tsunami in Asia, our troops have the gratitude of
every American for their courage, their patriotism, and
the sacrifice they are willing to make for our country.
I have seen that sacrifice up close. I've
met with our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. And I've visited
our wounded in military hospitals here and overseas. Our
troops not only defend us, they inspire us. They remind
us of our responsibility to build a future worthy of their
sacrifice.
Because of the courage of our servicemen
and women and the determination of the Iraqi people, Iraq's
election on Sunday was a significant step toward Iraqis
taking their future into their own hands. Now we must consider
our future in Iraq.
We all know that the United States cannot
stay in Iraq indefinitely and continue to be viewed as an
occupying force. Neither should we slip out the back door,
falsely declaring victory but leaving chaos.
Despite the best efforts of our troops and
their Iraqi counterparts, Iraq still faces a violent and
persistent insurgency, and the Chairman of the National
Intelligence Council said in January that Iraq is now a
magnet for international terrorists.
We have never heard a clear plan from this
administration for ending our presence in Iraq. And we did
not hear one tonight. Democrats believe a credible plan
to bring our troops home and stabilize Iraq must include
three key elements.
First, responsibility for Iraqi security
must be transferred to the Iraqis as soon as possible. This
action is long overdue. The top priority for the U.S. military
should be training the Iraqi army. We must not be lulled
into a false sense of confidence by the administration's
claim that a large number of security personnel have been
trained. It simply hasn't happened, but it must.
Second, Iraq's economic development must
be accelerated. Congress has provided billions of dollars
for reconstruction, but little of that money has been spent
to put Iraqis to work rebuilding their country. Infrastructure
improvements in Iraq are more than just projects; they give
Iraqis hope for a better future and a stake in achieving
it. And they contribute to Iraqi stability.
Third, regional diplomacy must be intensified.
Diplomacy can lessen the political problems in Iraq, take
pressure off of our troops, and deprive the insurgency of
the fuel of anti-Americanism on which it thrives.
If these three steps are taken, the next
elections in Iraq, scheduled for December, can be held in
a more secure atmosphere, with broader participation, and
a much smaller American presence.
Just as we must transfer greater responsibility
to the Iraqi people for their own security, we must embrace
a renewed commitment to our security here at home. It's
been over three years since the attacks of September 11th.
Our hopes and prayers will always be with the 9/11 families,
who strengthen our resolve to win the war on terror. The
pain and horror of that day will never be forgotten by any
of us, yet the gaps in our security exposed by those attacks
remain.
Despite the administration's rhetoric, airline
cargo still goes uninspected, shipping containers go unscreened,
and our railroads and power plants are not secure. Police
officers and firefighters across America have pleaded for
the tools they need to prevent or respond to an attack,
but the administration still hasn't delivered for our first
responders.
The greatest threats to our homeland security
are the tons of biological, chemical, and even nuclear materials
that are unaccounted for or unguarded. The President says
the right words about the threat, but he has failed to take
action commensurate with it.
We can and we must keep the world's most
gruesome weapons out of the world's most dangerous hands.
Nothing is more important to our homeland security, and
indeed to the safety of the world.
For three years, the President has failed
to put together a comprehensive plan to protect America
from terrorism, and we did not hear one tonight.
As we strive to close the gaps in our security
here at home, we must do more than show our strength as
a nation, we must also show our greatness.
We must extend the hand of friendship to
our neighbors in Latin America. We must work to stop the
genocide in Sudan. We must reinvigorate the Middle East
peace process. And we must bring health and hope to people
suffering from disease, devastation, and the fury of despair.
We are called to do this and more by our
faith and our common humanity, and also because these actions
will enhance our national security.
Democrats are committed to a strong national
security that keeps America safe, that wins the war on terror,
and that never again sends our troops into harm's way without
the equipment they need.
In our New Partnership for America's Future,
House Democrats have made a commitment to guarantee a military
second to none; to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction;
to build strong diplomatic alliances; to collect timely
and reliable intelligence to keep us safe at home; and to
honor our veterans and their families by making sure they
have the health care and benefits they have earned.
For those returning from military service
today -- our newest veterans -- Democrats are calling for
a G.I. Bill of Rights for the 21st century to guarantee
access to education, health care and the opportunity for
good jobs. And as we protect and defend the American people,
we must also protect and defend our Constitution and the
civil liberties contained therein. That is our oath of office.
A strong and secure America was our parents'
gift to us. We owe our children and our grandchildren nothing
less. Thank you, good night, and may God continue to bless
the United States of America.
(end text)
