Levin Statement on the State of the Union Address: 01/23/07
Washington — Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., issued the following statement about the President’s State of the Union address:
“The proposals the President outlined are not adequate for the challenges we face.
“Although the President has finally recognized the importance of alternative energy sources and the reality of global warming, his plan is still not up to the task. We need nothing less than a comprehensive initiative to create leap-ahead energy technologies, to produce a large number of vehicles that can run on alternative fuels, and to level the playing field for our domestic manufacturers. The President’s energy proposal needs significant improvement, and I will work for a comprehensive plan that reduces our dependence on foreign oil, reduces our impact on the environment, creates jobs, and strengthens our manufacturing industry.
“The President again failed to make revitalizing American manufacturing a priority. He didn’t even mention manufacturing. Three million manufacturing jobs have been lost since he took office, and we are losing more manufacturing jobs every month. Yet the Administration refuses to act in the areas of tax policy, trade policy, research and development programs, health care, and currency manipulation in order to give our manufacturers the kind of support other governments give their manufacturers.
“The President continued tonight to try to blur the difference between the war in Iraq and the war on terror. His misguided plan to escalate the number of American troops in Iraq has little support, so he attempted to tap into our united opposition to al-Qaeda. The American people deserve a new strategy for Iraq, but they did not hear it from the President.
“The Iraqi political leadership needs to resolve the political differences which are at the heart of the violence. The President’s plan doesn’t put adequate pressure on them to do so. Increasing the number of troops and deepening our military involvement won’t help achieve success, since there is no military solution in Iraq but only a political solution.”