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Congressman
Elijah E. Cummings |
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Congressman
Elijah E. Cummings |
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(1/24/04 Baltimore AFRO-American Newspaper)
Words, deeds and the state of our union
by Congressman Elijah E. Cummings
Each January, our national celebration of Dr. King’s birthday and the President’s State of the Union Address offer Americans the opportunity to unite in a shared vision for the future. This year, however, America remains deeply divided - national disunity that has been increased by the contradictions between President Bush’s words and his deeds.
Last week, when George W. Bush made a visit to Dr. King’s grave, he was met by hundreds of protestors, most of them Black, who challenged his commitment to civil rights and peace. If the President was concerned, however, it did not cause him to change his mind about appointing a federal judge of highly questionable civil rights credentials.
The next day, he named Charles Pickering of Mississippi to the United States Court of Appeals - over the objections of almost every civil rights organization in the country.
“Dr. King's dream of liberty and justice for all should not be just a recital, but a reality,” observed my colleague, Congresswoman Barbara Lee of California.
“The president's recess appointment of this anti-civil rights judge the day after laying a wreath on the grave of Martin Luther King . . . serves only to emphasize again this administration's shameful opposition to civil rights,” declared Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts.
These challenges may seem harsh to some, but Americans of good conscience could not overlook the sharp contrast between the President’s words and his deeds. We cannot ignore his failure to eliminate the stark racial disparities in health care; his failure to strengthen our voting rights in the aftermath of Florida 2002; or his lack of respect for our civil liberties and fundamental freedoms as Americans.
In the aftermath of that Atlanta trip, the President gave a State of the Union Address last Tuesday that was a campaign speech - not a unifying affirmation of our national principles nor even a candid recognition of the harsh realities that too many Americans must face in their everyday lives.
As citizens of the greatest nation on earth, each of us was left to answer for ourselves: What, truly, is the state of our union?
Consider four critical issues that are central to our lives: jobs, health care, education and national security.
Jobs: In his State of the Union address two years ago, President Bush stated that “. . . my economic security plan can be summed up in one word: jobs.” Last Tuesday, however, more than 14 million Americans continued to struggle in economic insecurity.
Nearly 9 million Americans were still looking for work (120,000 in Maryland alone) in an economy that has lost more than 2 million jobs during this Administration. The unemployment rate in African American communities remained at least twice the national average.
After cutting the funding for job training programs during the last three years, the President correctly - if belatedly - talked about expanding them last Tuesday. We all know, however, that far more decisive and comprehensive action will be required to substantially reduce the unemployment rate.
Health Care: During his address on Tuesday night, the President spoke about the crisis in our health care system. That was appropriate - more than 43 million Americans now lack health insurance.
What the President did not reveal is that more than 2.4 million Americans have lost their health insurance since he took office in 2001.
Tax credits for health insurance are worth considering, but they will not solve the problem of families who are unable to pay skyrocketing health insurance premiums. Americans need and deserve universal access to affordable, high quality health care.
Education: Tuesday night, the President spoke of our national mission to uplift every child through the power of education - to “Leave No Child Behind.” Yet, preliminary information about the Bush Administration’s education budget for next year paints a stark contrast between the President’s words and his actual level of commitment.
The President’s proposed budget would shortchange Title I children by 7 billion dollars. Nearly 5 million children would be denied the better teachers, smaller classes and extra help in math and science that they have been promised.
Fully funding No Child Left Behind would evoke the unifying applause of every American.
National Security - Iraq: Finally, Americans are divided over whether President Bush’s foreign and military policies have been either wise or honest.
A recent report by the U.S. Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute has concluded that linking Saddam Hussein with al-Qaida was “a strategic error of the first order;” that this error led to “an unnecessary preventive war of choice against a deterred Iraq;” and that the Iraq war is “a detour from the war on terror.”
At the same time, our cities, ports, rail lines and “first responders” have yet to receive the federal support they need and deserve.
The national security critique became more pronounced last week with the release of an evaluation by the highly respected Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - an analysis that confirmed that the President and his Administration “. . . misrepresented the threat from Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs over and above intelligence findings.”
Last Tuesday, the President proclaimed that “no one can now doubt the word of America.” The critical question, however, is this: Can America trust this President?
America remain divided. Our Constitution, however, empowers Americans with the ability to resolve these divisions on Election Day 2004.
We can exercise our power to elect a President whose words of national unity will be reflected in deeds.
-The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings represents the 7th Congressional District of Maryland in the United States House of Representatives.
