News Release

January 28, 2003

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Bush Speech to Congress Contains Far Fewer Initiatives Than Last Year
President proposes only 20 new or expanded initiatives, Cato analysis finds

WASHINGTON—In his State of the Union address, President Bush proposed 19 fewer policy initiatives than he did last year, according to a Cato Institute analysis of the speech. Tonight, the president outlined 20 new or expanded initiatives, down from 39 initiatives he proposed in last year's address to a joint session of Congress, and significantly fewer than the 104 initiatives proposed by President Clinton in his 2000 State of the Union address. Bush made his 20 proposals in 65 minutes-17 minutes more than last year. This is the fifth year the Cato Institute has tabulated the number of new initiatives proposed in State of the Union addresses. Cato Executive Vice President David Boaz offers the following additional analysis: "The first half of President Bush's State of the Union speech was Clinton Lite. With a laundry list of proposals for 'hydrogen-powered automobiles' and 'the training and recruiting of mentors' and drug treatment programs, the president showed little respect for the appropriate limits on the size and scope of the federal government.

"President Bush promised to 'show some spending discipline'--and then proceeded to promise $1.2 billion for the automobile industry, $450 million for mentors, $15 billion for AIDS in Africa, and $400 billion for Medicare. He did not propose elimination of a single federal program or a single reduction in spending for any program. And in a time of sharply rising deficits and new needs for defense, he pledged to work with Congress to create a massive new entitlement program, prescription drugs for the elderly.

"Perhaps even more unfortunately, the president's discussion of the war against the terrorists who attacked America was sandwiched between his domestic spending plans and his call for a risky and unnecessary war against Iraq. Instead of launching a new war, he should have promised to 'clear the decks for war against al Qaeda'--ending the obsolete troop presence in Europe, Japan, and South Korea, swearing off new military undertakings, and focusing clearly on tracking down the terrorists who attacked us.

"There was one bright spot in the speech: the president's insistence that 'we must offer younger workers a chance to invest in retirement accounts that they will control and they will own.' Cato Institute scholars are eager to work with the president to give younger workers more control over their retirement. We hope President Bush and members of Congress will move quickly toward that goal.

"Overall, however, from government databases to restrictions on civil liberties to an expanded federal role in education and energy to a sharply climbing federal budget, the Bush administration is increasing the size, scope, and power of government in far too many areas. A president who campaigned on the theme that 'my opponent trusts government, I trust you' should promise to reverse these trends and begin the process of bringing the federal government back inside the bounds of the Constitution and of fiscal responsibility."

Because the president may announce new initiatives in major policy speeches in the days to come, today's numbers may be revised.

A Summary of the Policy Initiatives Made by President Bush in the State of the Union Address

January 28, 2003

Here is a list of new or expanded initiatives proposed by President Bush earlier tonight:

Tax Relief Now
1. "I am proposing that all the income tax reductions set for 2004 and 2006 be made permanent and effective this year."
2. "I ask you to end the unfair double taxation of dividends."

A Glimmer of Hope for Social Security
3. "...we must offer younger workers a chance to invest in retirement accounts that they will control and they will own."

So, Um, Let's See, That's About $30 Billion
4. "I will send you a budget that increases discretionary spending by four percent next year..."

Reforming Healthcare
5. "...all seniors should have the choice of a health care plan that provides prescription drugs"
6. "My budget will commit an additional 400 billion dollars over the next decade to strengthen Medicare."
7. "...I urge the Congress to pass medical liability reform."

George Bush, Meet George Jetson
8. "Tonight I am proposing 1.2 billion dollars in research funding so that America can lead the world in developing clean, hydrogen-powered automobiles"

Compulsory Compassion
9. "I propose a 450 million dollar initiative to bring mentors to more than a million disadvantaged junior high students and children of prisoners."
10. "So tonight I propose a new 600 million dollar program to help an additional 300,000 Americans receive [drug] treatment over the next three years."
11. "[T]onight I propose the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.... I ask the Congress to commit 15 billion dollars over the next five years..."
12. "I urge you to pass both my faith-based initiative..."
13. "...and the Citizen Service Act."

Life and Science
14. "I ask you to protect infants at the very hour of birth, and end the practice of partial-birth abortion."
15. "I ask you to set a high standard for humanity and pass a law against all human cloning."

Defense Against Terror
16. "I ask you tonight to add to our future security with a major research and production effort to guard our people against bio-terrorism, called Project Bioshield. The budget I send you will propose almost six billion dollars to quickly make available effective vaccines and treatments against agents like anthrax, botulinum toxin, Ebola, and plague."
17. "[T]onight, I am instructing the leaders of the FBI, Central Intelligence, Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense to develop a Terrorist Threat Integration Center, to merge and analyze all threat information in a single location."

George the Ecologist
18. "I have sent you Clear Skies legislation that mandates a 70 percent cut in air pollution from power plants over the next 15 years."
19. "I have sent you a comprehensive energy plan to promote energy efficiency and conservation, to develop cleaner technology, and to produce more energy at home."
20. "I have sent you Healthy Forests Initiative, to help prevent the catastrophic fires that devastate communities, kill wildlife, and burn away millions of acres of treasured forest."

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