Merkley: In his final State of the Union address, President Bush should be honest with the American people

“The average American family’s wages are lower than they were seven years ago, their debt is higher, and fewer have health insurance. Now they are experiencing the ravages of mass foreclosures – the result of too little scrutiny and too few protections in the mortgage industry. President Bush and Gordon Smith have turned a $5 trillion surplus into a $9 trillion debt. In every way, the economy of the last seven years has been terrible for America’s working families.

“American families deserve a government that looks out for them. While our economy sinks and the war in Iraq continues with no end in sight, we’re faced with the challenge of how to turn it all around. Any economic stimulus package must be targeted at low and middle income families. That means the current proposals to give tax rebates to families must also include those Americans who pay only Medicare and Social Security taxes, and that unemployment insurance must be extended.

“It is time to bring our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters home from Iraq. They were ready when their country called upon them to fight, and they have served honorably. But the failed leadership at the highest levels of this administration has put them in the middle of a terrible political situation that cannot be fixed with military force. Tonight the President should heed the advice of the American people, who know our national security depends on redeploying our combat troops from Iraq.

“We now have a new generation of war veterans who require health care and training for a successful reentry into civilian life. More than one million soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and National Guard troops have served our country in Iraq and Afghanistan. But our government has not upheld its commitment to them, nor has it treated them with the dignity and respect they have earned. They deserve a strong G.I. Bill of Rights and high quality health care. Instead, the VA health system is woefully inadequate. Returning veterans face months-long waiting periods for treatment in facilities and they do not get the proper screening for traumatic brain injury and PTSD they desperately need. The President’s legacy for our veterans will not be a positive one unless he moves to correct these terrible injustices in the time he has left in office.

“But a lack of adequate health care isn’t just limited to our returning veterans. Working families across the country face serious challenges in coverage and access. For my family that reality is personal. Every day my wife, Mary, brings home stories from the hospital of patients who have no health coverage or too little health coverage. It is a tragedy that in the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, some of our citizens are cast aside by this failed system when they are at their weakest and most vulnerable. One of the greatest legacies President Bush could leave behind is a health care system that works for every single American – one where no sick child is turned away because their parents don’t have the right benefits at work.

“On every front, America’s working families face tremendous challenges. President Bush has an opportunity tonight to take accountability for his failed leadership. Across the country Americans are calling for a change in direction. I hope tonight President Bush will heed that call.”

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