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Dear Friends:
This week, President Bush traveled to Capitol Hill to deliver his final State of the Union Address. It was a speech that talked of America's greatness, but it also focused on some of the serious problems we face. I continue to have serious policy disagreements with the President -- the Iraq War, how to address our nation's health care crisis and how best to achieve energy independence - but I will continue to work with my congressional colleagues to move our nation forward in a direction that I believe the majority of Americans support.
Today, middle-class Americans are hurting. We are facing the possibility of a recession, our housing market is in crisis and Americans are paying too much at the gas pump. Our first order of business is to enact a stimulus package that will get money into the hands of those who need it and will spend it. I am pleased that we have made significant progress in crafting a bipartisan stimulus package, and I look forward to working with my Senate colleagues on the Budget Committee to ensure it is timely, temporary and targeted.
We also have a duty to future generations -- a duty that cannot wait for a change in leadership in the White House. As a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, I will continue to work for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. On the Budget Committee, I will continue to work for enactment of a Children's Health Insurance Program that ensures all American children have access to health care. And, I will join with many of my colleagues on the Foreign Relations Committee to push for a withdrawal of American troops from the on-going civil war in Iraq.
At the same time, we must work to balance the federal budget while we work to reorder our nation's priorities. It can be done. We can deal with the problems affecting middle-class Americans and restore their confidence in our economy. All of us - Democrats and Republicans alike - must find the courage and commitment not to leave our grandchildren with a legacy of debt.
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