NELSON STATEMENT ON STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

January 28, 2008 – Nebraska's Senator Ben Nelson issued the following statement on President George W. Bush's State of the Union address:

"I was pleased that the economy was front and center in tonight's speech. I absolutely agree that we must immediately act to provide economic stimulus for working families.  The House has made a good start with a bipartisan package, but I believe that it can be improved with infrastructure assistance to states and help for homeowners. I'll be working with my colleagues to make sure we pass a package that will get our economy back on track.

"The President also spoke of transitioning the mission in Iraq. This is what I have advocated for several months and something I'll be pushing in the new Congress. Our troops have done an outstanding job - it is critical that the Iraqi government step up and take responsibility for their country's future.

"The rhetoric on earmarks, however, struck me as a political ploy. Frankly, a much more fiscally responsible step would be to finally have the hundreds of billions of dollars in war costs included in the Administration's budget. Focusing on a fraction of a percent of federal spending may be good politics, but it's a distraction from the larger budget problems facing our nation.

"Finally, I was disappointed that we heard very little about issues facing rural America - nothing about the pending farm bill and no commitment to ending the unfair restrictions on American beef. These issues have not been addressed in past speeches and I’m sorry to say that this year was no different.

"However, there is room for compromise and consensus and I look forward to working with members of both parties to move forward on the important issues facing our nation."

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