State of the Union: Bush lauds progress in Iraq, pushes for quick U.S. stimulus plan
In his final year, the president proposes a modest agenda at home.
posted January 28, 2008 at 11:14 p.m. EST
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Delivering the official Democratic response, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius urged Bush to work with Congress and help the US regain global standing lost because of the war.
"The last five years have cost us dearly – in lives lost, in thousands of wounded warriors whose futures may never be the same, in challenges not met here at home because our resources were committed elsewhere," she said. "America's foreign policy has left us with fewer allies and more enemies."
Bush called for an effort to crack down on the pork-barrel practices of Congress, saying he will veto any spending bill that does not cut in half the number and cost of congressional pet projects, known as earmarks.
The president planned to issue an executive order Tuesday ordering federal agencies to ignore earmarks that aren't explicitly enacted into law, erasing a common practice in which lawmakers' projects are outlined in nonbinding documents that accompany legislation. The move is aimed at making doubly sure that lawmakers have the opportunity to strike earmarks during floor debates.
However, Bush's plan leaves untouched the more than 11,700 earmarks totaling $16.9 billion that Congress approved last year.
He also said he would send Congress a budget that terminates or substantially reduces 151 "wasteful or bloated programs" totaling more than $18 billion.
He renewed a proposal to spend $300 million for a "grants for kids" program to help poor children in struggling public schools pay for the cost of attending a private school or a better public school outside their district.
On two issues that were centerpieces of State of the Union addresses past – Social Security and immigration – Bush passed the buck back to Congress, which had ignored the president's earlier proposals. Contending that entitlement spending is "growing faster than we can afford," he said, "I ask members of Congress to offer your proposals and come up with a bipartisan solution to save these vital programs for our children and grandchildren."
The president also:
•Announced a White House summit on inner-city children and religious schools.
•Said that his annual meeting with the leaders of Mexico and Canada will be held this year in New Orleans, demonstrating the city's recovery efforts.
•Prodded Congress to extend a law allowing surveillance on suspected terrorists, renew his education-reform law, and approve free-trade pacts with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea.
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