29 January 2002

Congress United Behind Bush on Fight Against Terrorism

Washington -- Members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have expressed strong support for President Bush's pledge in his State of the Union address January 29 to keep up the war against terrorism that was begun in Afghanistan.

But -- while couching their comments in unusually muted terms for opposition party members reacting to a presidential speech -- Democratic legislators nevertheless voiced substantially less enthusiasm over his plans for the domestic economy.

Republican leaders, predictably, expressed themselves in much fuller agreement with the president across the board.

Delivering his party's formal response immediately after Bush gave his speech to a joint session of Congress, House Minority (Democratic) Leader Richard Gephardt stressed that Democrats and Republicans stand with "one resolve" to defeat terrorists abroad and guard against their efforts at home.

"To our enemies, we say with one voice: no act of violence, no threat will drive us apart or steer us from our course -- to protect America and preserve our democracy," Gephardt said. "And make no mistake about it, we are going to hunt you down and make you pay."

But, though he repeatedly counseled bipartisanship, Gephardt made clear that support for the president in the battle against terrorism does not obligate the Democrats to support him on economic policies with which they disagree.

While Bush has proposed significant tax cuts for individuals and businesses, Gephardt cited American values that "call for helping the unemployed, not just large corporations and the most fortunate." The Democratic leader -- seen as a likely contender for his party's presidential nomination in 2004 -- called for a bipartisan White House summit on economic growth.

While Bush, in his speech, avoided direct mention of the recent bankruptcy of Enron Corp., the energy trading company whose financial practices have produced multiple congressional investigations, Gephardt used it as a case in point in calling for new steps aimed at "protecting pensions from corporate mismanagement and abuse."

And Gephardt said the Enron case underscores the need for campaign finance reform -- a contentious issue in Congress. "If the nation's largest bankruptcy coupled with a clear example of paid political influence isn't a prime case for reform, I don't know what is," he said.

Still, the Democratic leader made clear that he believes the same bipartisanship that has marked the war on terrorism can be applied in economic matters as well. "I refuse to accept that while we stand shoulder to shoulder on the war, we should stand toe to toe on the economy," he said.

Senate leaders of both parties struck the theme of cooperation too.

Senate Minority (Republican) Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi said bipartisanship will be "particularly hard with it being an election year." But, he added, "the American people expect that of us and we have an opportunity to come together."

Earlier in the day, Majority (Democratic) Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota said that last year's bipartisan passage of an education bill can serve as a model. "There have been many occasions when the Congress has come together to deal with critical issues, controversial issues in an election year. This year ought to be no different," he said.

He repeated that view after the president's speech, declaring, "With a renewed commitment to compromise from both sides, I believe that we can put our economy back on track, win the war against terror and meet our nation's great unmet goals."

Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (Republican, Illinois) pronounced Congress to be "committed to working with the president to eliminate terrorist threats against America."

Representative Bob Stump (Republican, Arizona), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, expressed pleasure that Bush "reminded all Americans that providing for our nation's defense is the federal government's number one priority."

One of the sharpest responses came from Representative Pete Stark (Democrat, California), a strong advocate of expanded health care programs. He termed the president's Medicare prescription drug proposal "a cruel hoax on America's seniors," adding, "This empty promise without substantive funding is just cheap rhetoric -- a political ploy to make the president look like he cares about seniors and their health."

Representative J.C. Watts of Oklahoma, a member of the House Republican leadership, urged that Congress pledge to turn what he termed the president's "ambitious agenda" into reality during this year's session.

But Senator Joseph Biden (Democrat, Delaware) was more reserved in his appraisal. "Tonight President Bush gave us a glimpse of what he proposes, and in a few days the budget will be released and the picture will become clearer," said the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman.

"We will soon find out how the administration is going to fit all the things it hopes to implement -- the 10 pounds in their wish list -- into the five pound bag" of available funds, he added.