Kerry: Bush's Trail of Broken Promises

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Trail of Broken Promises and Failed Policies Leads Straight to Bush's Florida Campaign Kick Off

Graham, Nelson and Meek Say John Kerry Will Create Jobs, Improve Schools, Support Veterans, and Make Health Care More Affordable for Floridians

March  19,  2004

For Immediate Release
Miami, FL -
Just 24 hours before George W. Bush kicks off his campaign in Florida, U.S. Senators Bob Graham and Bill Nelson and Congressman Kendrick Meek today revealed the impact of George W. Bush’s broken promises and failed policies on Florida’s working families.
Graham, Nelson, and Meek contrasted Bush’s failed policies on jobs, education, health care, and veterans benefits with John Kerry’s plans to create jobs, establish an education trust fund, make health care affordable for all Americans, and provide mandatory funding for veterans health care.

"I wish the President would spend some more time in Central Florida and speak to people other than his most loyal supporters, because he needs to hear that his misguided policies are hurting people,” said Graham. “In greater Orlando alone, the unemployment rate has shot from 2.5 percent in December 2000 to 4.4 percent in January 2004. That's a loss of more than 40,000 jobs."

“Today marks an entire year that we've been fighting in Iraq,” said Nelson, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “I think it would be fitting if we started keeping our promises to all of our veterans. The President could start by supporting repeal of the disabled veteran’s tax,” Nelson said, referring to the administration's threatened veto of a measure to end the practice of denying wounded military retirees disability compensation along with their retirement pay.

“President Bush's economic policies have failed Florida,” said Meek, Kerry’s State Campaign Chair. “His corporate buddies have shipped 70,000 Floridian manufacturing jobs overseas, and now it's time for Mr. Bush to get the pink slip.”

JUST THE FACTS
GEORGE W. BUSH: A FAILING AGENDA FOR FLORIDA AND AMERICA

ISSUE #1: A REAL PLAN TO CREATE JOBS:

GEORGE BUSH

NO: Bush has presided over the loss of 3 million jobs. He has consistently promised that his tax cuts will deliver jobs but the results are terrible. Bush said that his first tax cut would create 800,000 jobs, but instead we lost 1.9 million jobs. Bush said that his second tax cut would create 510,000 jobs, but instead we lost 53,000 jobs. Now he’s promising that we’ll create 2.6 million jobs in 2004, but even Alan Greenspan says that’s unlikely to happen.

JOHN KERRY

YES: Kerry understands that tax cuts for the rich will not bring back the three million jobs lost under George Bush. Kerry has a comprehensive plan to create good jobs:

* Tax Credit to Create Manufacturing Jobs: Bush has done nothing to end incentives that encourage companies to move abroad. John Kerry supports a corporate rate reduction for manufacturers who produce goods in the U.S., and he has proposed a new jobs tax credit to encourage manufacturing companies to stay and expand in America.


* More Jobs in Small Business: Bush is proposing to cut the Small Business Administration by 25 percent. John Kerry has a plan to make it easier for small businesses to get capital and loans. He also has a health care tax credit for small businesses and a comprehensive energy plan that will help businesses cut costs.


* Jobs Through Energy Technology: Bush’s energy plan is a handout to big oil and fails to invest in the innovative energy technology of the future. John Kerry has a plan to invest in renewable energy and technologies that will create 500,000 jobs and make energy more affordable for businesses.

ISSUE #2: KEEPING MANUFACTURING JOBS IN AMERICA:

GEORGE BUSH

NO: The Bush Administration has done nothing to end incentives that encourage manufacturers to move their jobs overseas and has given lucrative government contracts to companies that haven’t stood by their workers.

JOHN KERRY

YES: John Kerry supports a corporate rate reduction for manufacturers who produce goods in the U.S. and a new jobs tax credit to encourage manufacturing companies to stay and expand in America.

ISSUE #3: ADDRESS THE RISING COSTS OF COLLEGE:

GEORGE BUSH

NO: George Bush’s fiscal policies have resulted in enormous state deficits. Many states have been forced to cut higher education funding and increase tuition costs. Over the past two years, the cost to attend a public four-year college or university has increased by 10 percent, and the cost to attend a pubic two-year college has increased by 8 percent over the same time period.

JOHN KERRY

YES: John Kerry will make four years of college affordable for all Americans. His “College Opportunity Tax Credit” will provide a credit for each and every year of college on the first $4,000 paid in tuition – the typical tuition and fees for public college tuition. The credit will provide 100% of the first $1000 and 50% on the rest. It will also make this credit refundable for those who receive other credits.

ISSUE #4: FUND PUBLIC EDUCATION:

GEORGE BUSH

NO: George Bush walked away from his promise to fully fund the No Child Left Behind Act, falling over $8 billion short this year.

JOHN KERRY

YES: John Kerry will fully fund public education and education for children with special needs.

ISSUE #5: PROVIDE HEALTH INSURANCE FOR ALL:

GEORGE BUSH

NO: George Bush has no plan to ensure that all Americans have health insurance. The number of Americans without health insurance is on the rise. There are currently 43 million people without health insurance in the U.S., two million more than when Bush took office.

JOHN KERRY

YES: John Kerry has an affordable plan to provide health care to 96% of Americans including 99% of America’s children.

ISSUE #6: REWARDING RETIREE HEALTH COVERAGE:

GEORGE BUSH

NO: George Bush signed a prescription drug benefit into law that will cause two million Americans to lose their retiree health coverage.

JOHN KERRY

YES: John Kerry believes prescription drug benefit should relieve employers and employees from high drug costs by counting retiree coverage.

ISSUE #7: CUTTING PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICES:

GEORGE BUSH

NO: George Bush caved to the pharmaceutical companies and his plan explicitly won’t let Medicare negotiate for a better deal for prescriptions or let seniors buy drugs from Canada.

JOHN KERRY

YES: John Kerry will sign a prescription drug bill that would allow Medicare to negotiate better prices and will allow people to buy more affordable prescriptions from Canada and other countries.

ISSUE #8: ELIMINATING “THE DISABLED VETERANS TAX”:

GEORGE BUSH

NO: George Bush’s Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, said he would recommend to the President that any legislation repealing the tax should be vetoed. A compromise measure brought by Congressional Republicans leaves 400,000 veterans paying the tax.

JOHN KERRY

YES: John Kerry will eliminate this archaic tax on our military retirees who receive both pensions and disability compensation. Disabled veterans should not have to pay more.

ISSUE #9: FULLY FUNDING QUALITY HEALTH CARE FOR VETERANS:

GEORGE BUSH

NO: George Bush has left nearly 90,000 veterans waiting for health care appointments. Current policy will exclude 500,000 veterans from the VA health care system by 2005. Bush has also proposed increasing fees and co-payments to shift the burden for care onto veterans. The President thinks a $308 million increase for the entire VA health care system is enough. Coincidentally, Congress provided that same amount of money this year to help defray the costs of new patients at Florida facilities alone. The President's budget seeks to close 8,000 nursing home beds nationwide, at a time when the demand for long-term care services is high.

JOHN KERRY

YES: John Kerry has pledged to end the game of playing politics with funding for veterans health care. He will insist on mandatory funding for veterans health care for all veterans. Kerry will work to end lines for all types of care for veterans – primary care and specialists.

ISSUE #10: NOT CUTTING PAY FOR OUR TROOPS:

GEORGE BUSH

NO: Bush sought to roll-back increases in imminent danger pay and family separation allowances. The Administration wanted to cut imminent danger pay from $225 to $150 a month and the family separation allowance, which goes to help military families pay rent, child care or other expenses while soldiers are away, from $250 from $100 a month.

JOHN KERRY

YES: John Kerry opposed the Bush cuts. He will not abandon our troops or cut their pay, particularly at a time when so many members of our military are facing danger.

ISSUE #11: GIVING OUR TROOPS THE PROTECTION THEY NEED:

GEORGE BUSH

NO: George Bush failed to provide the equipment our troops need. There have been reports of crews scavenging for AK-47s because there are not enough M-4s to go around and Troops deployed to Iraq with Vietnam era body armor.

JOHN KERRY

YES: John Kerry will fight for the equipment that the troops need. John Kerry believes there is no excuse not to provide our troops with the body armor, up-armored HUMVEEs, and weapons they require.

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1. Good list, I'll print it for distribution.