Jon Kyl, Harry Mitchell cheer parts of George Bush’s State of the Union
January 29th, 2008, 12:18 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Paul Giblin
President Bush
Republican Sen. Jon Kyl and Democrat Rep. Harry Mitchell both found aspects of President Bush’s final State of the Union speech to their liking. Here’s statements each of them issued after Bush’s speech Monday night.
From Kyl:
The president, in his final State of the Union Address, outlined an agenda that addresses some of our nation’s most pressing challenges. Most immediate is the need for legislation to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Al Qaeda still desires to carry out the same kinds of attacks against the United States and other countries that it executed on Sept. 11, 2001. We know the incredible amount of damage that can be inflicted if we do not monitor and respond to this threat. We also know that the best way to deal with al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations is to collect intelligence so that we can prevent attacks from occurring in the first place, rather than having to respond after they have occurred. That is why it is critical for Congress to ensure that under the law, the United States can engage in the kind of intelligence collection against al Qaeda that technology today allows.
Congress amended FISA in 2007 under the Protect America Act, which conformed the legal procedures to the evolving technology of intelligence collection. The PAA, however, is set to expire on Friday. The Senate has now been in session for almost two weeks since the beginning of this session, and majority leader has done very little to advance the issue. Instead, the Senate has devoted much of its time to considering unrelated legislation despite the looming deadline. I join with the president in urging the swift passage of a bill to properly and adequately update FISA.
While there were many fine initiatives laid out by the president, I want to specifically commend him for taking the lead to reform earmarks in Congressional spending bills. I don’t believe Congress has done enough to end this wasteful practice, and the president’s proposal to direct executive agencies to not fund projects that are not voted on by Congress is a good start.
From Mitchell:
I was pleased to see Sen. (Bob) Dole and (Department of Health and Human Services) Secretary (Donna) Shalala here tonight. Congress has passed a number of their recommendations to help our nation’s veterans, but there is so much more to be done.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are creating tens of thousands of new veterans, with new and demanding conditions. We have to be ready to treat them, and as we gather here tonight, we are not yet fully prepared. I recently returned from both Iraq and Afghanistan, where we looked at the transfer of medical records from the point of injury through the point of return to the United States, and I can tell you the process needs work.
I think it is wrong, at this time of war and economic uncertainty for members of Congress to raise their own pay yet again. Our sons and daughters are in harms way, we have a debt of more than $9 trillion, and families are worried about making ends meet. Americans didn’t get a pay raise last year, and I think it is wrong for members of Congress to give themselves one. I’ve introduced legislation to block this pay raise, and I’ve asked leadership to include it in the stimulus package.
I think the economy is a real concern. Unemployment rates are up in Arizona and we have record numbers of foreclosures in the Valley. We need to work in a bipartisan way to reverse this trend before it becomes a bigger problem.
I was pleased to hear the President speak about the need to secure our border. This is the federal government’s responsibility, it is not getting the job done, and Arizona is paying a hefty price as a result. More than half of all illegal U.S.-Mexico border crossings happen in Arizona. Congress increased funding for Customs and Border Protection, as well as for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and appropriated $1.2 billion for border fencing, but there is much more to do.
Mitchell represents Arizona’s 5th Congressional District, which takes in Scottsdale, Tempe, Fountain Hills, Ahwatukee Foothills and west Mesa.
