Taking care of our home front

OCTOBER 17TH, 2007 | TomHarkin

(cross-posted on www.dailykos.com)

Just a few weeks after vetoing health care for American children, the president has again threatened to block investing in important domestic priorities here at home.

The Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill that I will manage on the Senate floor this week supports American families, invests in this country’s future and reflects our shared values.

This bill funds life-saving research, Head Start, support for K-12 education, home-heating assistance for the poor, mental health and substance abuse services, student financial assistance, job training, and a whole host of other critical domestic needs.

This bill takes care of our home front.

As you know, the president’s priorities – enormous tax breaks and our tragic war in Iraq — have left these essential domestic investments starved in recent years.

President Bush will complain that Senate Democrats want to invest 11 billion dollars more than he requested over the next year to meet these important needs. He will not mention that he wants taxpayers to spend twelve billion dollars in Iraq every month.

Enough is enough. We’ve neglected these priorities for too long. While I expect that the president’s prepared statement on this bill will praise the fiscal discipline of his Party, don’t forget that for the six years that Republicans controlled Congress, they drove up $1.5 trillion dollars in new debt and President Bush never once vetoed a bill.

Nearly a year ago the American people spoke, with a decisive voice, and asked the Democrats to lead Congress. We have a responsibility to live up to your expectations and get this country back on the right track.

This responsibility to our home front requires us to fund the programs necessary to build a decent, just society and to stand up to a President who wants to spend hundreds of billions overseas, but veto an additional 11 billion here at home.

Please stand with me on the Health and Education bill and urge your Senator to support the funding bill this week. We continue to show the American people that progressives can and will continue to fight for what matters.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support, your hard work, and your dedication to our principles. I look forward to reading your questions and comments and I will try to respond as soon as time permits.

Sincerely,

Tom Harkin

del.icio.us | digg this | stumble it! | share on facebook

On October 17th, 2007 at 08:40 PM, DAVE LUCKENS wrote:

MY SENATORS ARE MITCH AND JIM OF KY I’LL CALL ‘EM,AND WRITE ‘EM,BUT THEIR COMBINED COMPASSION IQ IS ONLY A TAD HIGHER THAN ELVIRA’S CUPSIZE.ENLIGHTENED SELF INTEREST IS NOT REALLY THEIR STRONG POINT.THEY DON’T REALLY HAVE GREAT MEMORIES EITHER.MITCH WAS A SICKLY CHILD,AND JIM IS FROM SOUTHGATE KY-A SHABBY CINCY SUBURB.THE LATTER HAD THAT NASTY HALL O’FAME SINKER,AND THE FORMER BACAME THE PROTEGE OF SEN JOHN SHERMAN COOPER WHILE IN LAW SCHOOL.WHY CAN’T EVERY ONE DO THAT,HUH? THANKSFOR ALL YOU DO-FOR BEING A REAL SENATOR.

On October 18th, 2007 at 11:07 AM, Mary Anne Wilmot wrote:

Keep on fighting and pushing loud and hard. All I hear from our lame-duck President is we have to keep $$$ going to the war to keep the Peace. I guess he threw away his timetable for bringing troops home. I know he never intended to bring anybody home for good—except dead bodies and young people badly wounded in defense of what.

Your point of his using a veto against a Democractic Congress hits the nail on the head. Lame brain!

I am proud to say that as a resident of Illinois, I have two excellent senators who will support your work & try to encourage other colleagues to move this through.

I will write them once more to let them know how proud I am of both of them.

On October 19th, 2007 at 02:29 PM, Linda Smith wrote:

We can spend MILLION A DAY to create a pandora’s box in the middle east, but we cannot spend money on our selves. WHY.

Add your comment