War masks domestic agenda

To quote the words of President George W. Bush, “You can’t say one thing and do another.”

Our president offered us these words to live by in an October 2001 speech.

In a country bombarded with media images of the war on terrorism and other “evils” it is easy to ignore important legislation being pushed by the Bush administration here are home.

But during his presidential campaign, Bush made many promises to the American public first and foremost to protect our liberties ­ promises that he has yet to keep while the 24-hour reality war show occupies our minds.

While the war in Iraq monopolizes the airwaves, if not our consciousness, Bush’s behind-the-scenes domestic plans are not exactly representing majority interests in the United States.

Some examples:

· In March the Bush administration proposed new rules that would take away workers’ rights to overtime pay, in addition to eroding the 40-hour work week.

The proposed changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act would affect more than 80 million workers who are currently protected by the FLSA in various occupations.

Bush’s changes to FLSA rules could potentially give workers unpredictable work schedules because of an increased demand for extra hours, for which employers would not have to pay time-and-a-half.

· Bush claimed that a U.S. tax cut would not lead to a deficit even with a bad economy.

However, the budget deficit has grown substantially since Bush has been in office.

Bush’s fiscal year 2003 budget report anticipates a $106 billion deficit, the first deficit since 1997. And that report was just a rough estimate.

An April 26, 2002, report by the Washington Post stated that the U.S. report estimates the real deficit could be as much as $70 billion higher than projected in the U.S. report due to individual tax receipts.

· Bush promised to spend more money on education as part of the education reform law.

He made progress in this promise by signing the No Child Left Behind Act, which according to the U.S. Department of Education, was designed to close the gap between disadvantaged and minority students and their peers.

But, once again he reneged. Bush cut the funding for education by $90 million, leaving No Child Left Behind act behind.

· Bush promised to increase funding for Pell Grants that are based on need, grants only awarded to undergraduate students who have not earned a bachelor’s or professional degree.

Bush promised to raise the award to $5,100 per recipient to increase accessibility to higher education in low-income families.

In spite of this promise, when the time came to increase funding it was once again cut short.

Bush froze the Pell Grant at $3,850 ­ an increase of only $100.

· In his promise to make higher education more affordable and accessible for middle to lower class families, Bush offered students the opportunity to consolidate their education loans at federally subsidized, fixed interest rates.

Once again, however, Bush’s promise came up short.

When it came time to follow through, GOP budget negotiators proposed to prevent college students and graduates from consolidating their education loans at these rates.

Their new plan: to allow the consolidated loans to be offered only at variable rates, making the loans less appealing.

Keep in mind that these are just a few of Bush’s broken promises.

There are still problems in Medicare, Social Security, Affirmative Action, equal rights for gays and lesbians and environmental issues left to discuss.

Listed here are other points of interest on the way our President has dealt with our sputtering domestic policies:

· In his first year in office alone, Bush also cut federal spending on libraries by $39 million. He cut funding by 28 percent for research into cleaner, more efficient cars and trucks.

· Bush pulled out of the 1997 Kyoto Treaty global warming agreement despite the treaty’s objective of reducing “greenhouse gas” emissions, saying that he did not believe the Kyoto treaty was worthy enough.

· Bush cut programs to provide childcare to low-income families as they make a positive switch from relying on Welfare to returning to the workforce.

· One of Bush’s significant but quiet motives was to close the White House Office for Women’s Health Initiatives and Outreach.

Established in 1995, this organization served as a liaison that had ideas and goals on how to address policies affecting women.

Although no one in the Bush administration openly commented on Bush’s decision, it was said that the organization’s purpose had expired.

With the cutting of funds on many of our domestic policies, it is no wonder why Bush is not really saying anything about it.