– Murray talks about our budget priorities
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – In a speech today on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) underscored the importance of critical Senate-approved investments in transportation, safety, and health, which the President has threatened to veto. Senator Murray expressed frustration that the President is asking for $196 billion this year for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but he objects to spending just $22 billion over his budget request for domestic priorities.
In her speech, Murray said the Senate bills have solid bipartisan support and would restore money the President cut in his proposed domestic spending plan. “Funding these priorities will make our country safer, our communities healthier, and our economy stronger,” Murray said.
Among other things, the President would veto an amendment Senator Murray included in the Commerce, Justice, and Science appropriations bill that would take steps to replace FBI agents reassigned to counter-terrorism after 9/11. A Seattle Post-Intelligencer investigation found that Washington state has just 2.1 FBI agents per 100,000 people compared to the national average of four.
“If we can spend $10 billion a month for the war in Iraq, we should be willing to spend a fraction of that to ensure the security of our citizens at home,” Murray said.
“Whether it’s the war in Iraq, or gas prices, or access to health insurance – people feel a real weight on their shoulders,” Murray said. “They’re looking for a light at the end of the tunnel, and by vetoing these important bills – and failing to invest in the safety, health and economic future of all Americans – the President keeps putting out that light.”
The full text of Murray’s speech is below:
Mr. President, over the past few months, we have sent the President critical legislation that invests in our country’s transportation, economic, health, and safety needs.
Funding these priorities will make our country safer, our communities healthier, and our economy stronger.
Unfortunately, the President doesn’t seem to share these priorities. He proposed harmful budget cuts. And now he says he will veto several of these vital bills because we are asking for $22 billion more than he requested. He says our domestic spending is “irresponsible and excessive.”
Mr. President, I personally find that hard to understand when – at the same time – he wants $196 billion in emergency spending for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And by the way, that doesn’t include any money for veterans. In fact, the $22 billion we want to invest in these priorities at home represents less than what the President spends in Iraq in three months. Mr. President, that – not these bills – is what is “irresponsible and excessive.”
We need to make sure we aren’t ignoring our needs at home.
These bills have the support of both parties. They ensure our roads and bridges, airports and railways are in good condition, that workers and families are healthy, and that all children have a chance to succeed, and that we have enough law enforcement officers to keep our communities safe.
These bills simply restore some of the money the President cut, and take a modest step forward after years of going in the wrong direction.
The President is Saying ‘No’ to Critical Investments
Mr. President, a healthy transportation system is vital to a healthy community. We need to ensure families can get to school and work, and that goods can move from place to place.
But, by saying ‘No’ to our bill that provides money for transportation, housing and urban development, the President is saying ‘No’ to investments that ensure our communities are strong and that prevent disasters – like the bridge collapse in Minneapolis – from happening in our country again.
So I frankly am baffled that the President’s request for the war includes roughly $200 million for the construction of secondary roads in Afghanistan.
He wants to spend $200 million on roads in Afghanistan, but he’s upset about our amendment to fix bridges in the U.S.?
Mr. President, clearly the Administration thinks these projects are a priority for Iraq and Afghanistan. Otherwise the President wouldn’t include them in an emergency spending bill for the war.
So I ask why doesn’t the President think roads and bridges are a priority in the United States?
The President is Blocking Programs that Help Families
Mr. President, while the President is waging war overseas, we also are trying to make sure employers have workers, families have access to health care, and children get a good education.
Tuesday night, an overwhelming majority of this Senate voted to spend $11 billion over the President’s request on labor, health and human services, and education programs so we could do just that.
That bill would also invest in cutting-edge medical research for diseases like Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and cancer – research that would bring hope for millions of Americans.
In taking that vote, a bipartisan group of Senators agreed to restore funds for education, job training and health systems, when President Bush would have left them to cope with yet another year of unfunded mandates and empty promises.
The children’s health insurance bill we approved earlier this fall also would help millions of kids.
That bill, too, received a majority of support in the House and Senate.
But not from the President.
These bills would make Americans healthier and the economy more competitive. Yet the President disagrees. He says these programs also are “irresponsible and excessive.”
But guess what he proposes in his $196 billion request for Iraq and Afghanistan? Roughly $25 million for economic development projects to foster job creation in Iraq, and $60 million to fund economic projects to sustain development in the tribal areas of Pakistan.
Let me say that another way: He plans to veto job creation and economic development at home, but he wants to spend millions on similar programs in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The President is Blocking Important Safety Programs
The President says the $196 billion he is requesting for the war is necessary to make our world safer.
Well, Mr. President, we believe we also need to invest more in safety here at home.
Our bill funding commerce, justice, and science programs works to ensure our communities have enough FBI agents and police on the streets. And, like the other programs we want to fund, this restores deep cuts the President has proposed.
Mr. President, few bills are as important to the safety of our communities as this one.
But I’m especially concerned that the President is threatening to veto this bill because of how it affects my home state and the nation.
Six years after 9/11, the Administration still hasn’t replaced 2,400 law-enforcement agents across the country that it re-assigned to counter-terrorism after 9/11.
In Washington state, we were hit particularly hard by this. According to an investigation by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, we have a critical shortage of FBI agents – 2.1 agents for every 100,000 residents, or about half the national average.
The shift to counter-terrorism has left law-enforcement short-handed. Local police and sheriffs told me that the FBI has “virtually disappeared” from white collar crime investigations. They said the FBI doesn’t have the resources to adequately staff anti-gang task forces.
Yet criminals haven’t stopped robbing banks, dealing drugs, or stealing identities.
An amendment I got included in this bill would take steps to get more FBI agents in my community and wherever they are needed.
But by vetoing this bill, the President is saying ‘No’ to this amendment.
Mr. President, if we can spend $10 billion a month for the war in Iraq, we should be willing to spend a fraction of that to ensure the security of our citizens at home.
Clearly, the President is the one who is being “excessive and irresponsible.”
Conclusion
This might be an abstract debate about federal funding for the President. But we know it’s about real people.
- It’s about hardworking parents searching for a way to get health care for their families when it isn’t provided by their employers.
- It’s about getting citizens out of traffic jams, and ensuring our roads and bridges are safe.
- And it’s about making sure citizens can trust that enough law enforcement officers will be there to fight crime.
When I travel around Washington state, people tell me they want hope and change. Whether it’s the war in Iraq, or gas prices, or access to health insurance – people feel a real weight on their shoulders.
They’re looking for a light at the end of the tunnel, and by vetoing these important bills – and failing to invest in the safety, health and economic future of all Americans – the President keeps putting out that light.
Mr. President, we are investing $22 billion over last year in the future of our country and on behalf of the millions of American children and families who would benefit.
And I hope the President is listening.
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