FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 13, 2007
With several major Congressional actions expected in the final days of the year, Oregon Democratic Senate candidate Steve Novick today called on Senate leaders not to accede to demands by President Bush and Republicans for a blank check on the war in Iraq, increasing deficit spending to protect the profits of hedge fund managers, blanket legal immunity for the telecommunication industry's cooperation in warrantless wiretapping and watered down energy reform legislation.
"The American people gave Democrats control of Congress for a lot of reasons, but the central reason was that they wanted to see an end to this war and a new direction for our nation. They expected Democrats to stand up to George Bush. They expected an end to business as usual," said Novick. "The American people are shouting for change. They don't want our leaders in the Senate to practice politics as usual - just cut the deal and get out of town. As a U.S. Senator, I will never stop fighting until all of our troops are out of Iraq and we have erased the stain that President Bush has left on our nation."
As Congress try to complete work on several major pieces of legislation this week, leaders in the Senate are showing a disappointing pattern of giving in on key points of contention to try to get out of town before the holidays:
- Another $70 Billion For Iraq, No Withdrawal Strategy in Sight. "Democratic lawmakers and staffers privately say they're closing in on a broad budget deal that would give President Bush as much as $70 billion in new war funding. The deal would lack a key provision Democrats had attached to previous funding bills calling for most U.S. troops to come home from Iraq by the end of 2008, which would be a significant legislative victory for Bush." [CNN.com, 12/12/07]
- Hedge Fund Managers Profits before Fiscal Responsibility. House Democrats continue to push reasonable adjustments to the Alternative Minimum Tax to help middle-class families, financed by ending special tax treatment of hedge and private equity fund managers and other corporate tax loopholes. Yet the Senate appears ready to give in on the issue, abandoning the loophole closing proposal, backing off of the Democratic commitment to "pay as you go" and adding to the national debt. [Bloomberg, 12/12/07]
- Legal Immunity for Telecommunications to Help Wiretap U.S. Citizens. "The bill approved by the Senate Intelligence Committee -- and backed by the Bush administration -- would give retroactive legal immunity to telecommunciations companies that are being sued for assisting in the warrantless electronic surveillance of U.S. residents from Sept. 11, 2001, until January, when the spying activities were put under the supervision of the secret FISA court. The Senate Judiciary Committee bill does not provide immunity. Reid surprised senators this week by proposing the option of bringing two new bills to the floor, each combining different elements of the Intelligence and Judiciary measures." [CongressDaily, 12/13/07]
- Senate Passes Watered Down Energy Legislation. "Republicans were able to stall a broad energy bill in the Senate on Thursday morning, prompting Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic majority leader, to excise controversial parts of the measure in hopes of moving the legislation forward quickly." Senate Democrats had already given into Republican demands to eliminate a renewable energy standard from the legislation and now appear ready to protect billions in tax breaks for the oil industry. [AP, 12/13/07]
Novick added that "I understand the political risk that Democrats will have to take to stand firm on these issues. Bush will accuse them of 'abandoning the troops,' or 'failing to do the people's business.' But Democratic leaders should know that the American people are too smart for that. The American people know that it was George Bush who put those troops in harm's way, sent them into an unnecessary and unplanned war, failed to give them proper equipment, failed to provide proper medical care. These issues cut to the core of who we are and the direction we take as a nation. I am running because we need more voices in the Senate willing to say 'no' to the go-along/get-along insiders' game that has failed us so completely."
Novick contrasted Congressional leaders' decision to bow to Bush with Bill Clinton's firm stand in the budget crisis of 1995. "I was in the Justice Department then, and I was very proud of President Clinton. Bill Clinton was willing to see the federal government shut down - knowing that if he explained himself, the American people would see that the Republicans were responsible. Democrats today should be prepared to say, 'The President refuses to accept funding for the troops unless he has a blank check for a war without end. We are not giving him a blank check.'"
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