Campaign

This has become another unfortunate example of how White House misdirection, arrogance and mismanagement have needlessly complicated our goal of protecting the American people. I have always believed that the Bush-Cheney warrantless domestic spying program violated our laws. We can and should wiretap terrorists under the current FISA law. The problem has been the Bush-Cheney Administration’s insistence on doing it illegally, without checks and balances to prevent abusing the rights of Americans. By following the Constitution and our laws, we can protect both our security and our American values.

When I’m out on the campaign trail, I find that working Iowans are unhappy about the way their tax dollars are being spent. I’ve talked with people that have to make tough decisions with their family budget and can’t understand why the federal budget doesn’t work the same way. As our deficit has ballooned it is becoming clear that our irresponsible spending will become a burden on our children and grandchildren. Pork barrel projects are the root of the problem. This year Congress approved over 15,000 earmarks, nearly four times as many as were in the budget ten years ago.

I have proposed a three-point plan for bringing spending reform to Washington. First, we need to give line-item veto authority to the president. We also need to bring more sunshine into the earmarking process. By that I mean, no more shepherding bills through Congress in the middle of the night and putting an end to the practice of adding earmarks to bills just before they come to the floor. Lastly, I support an amendment to the United States Constitution that requires Congress to balance the federal budget.

The budget process is broken and it’s time we enact some responsible spending reforms.

I appreciate the efforts of the international community in working to bring peace to the Middle East but I believe the agreement which has been reached will not work. Any agreement that does not completely disarm Hezbollah and destroy their capability to rearm is destined to lead to more war in the future.

A UN force, or any peacekeeping force that does not fully disarm Hezbollah, or destroy its military capacity will only lead to more confrontation in the region, and possibly even lead to a more disastrous and wider war down the road. Only with the complete and fully-monitored disarmament and disbandment of Hezbollah can Israel and Lebanon live together as stable, peaceful and democratic neighbors.

This Sunday, August 20th, will mark the 10-year anniversary of the last time that the Congress increased the minimum wage, an unconscionable fact that currently leaves millions of workers struggling simply to put food on their table.  Unfortunately, instead of addressing this issue, the Republican leadership is playing political games, as evident by their recent move to tie a vote on the minimum wage to yet another tax cut for the wealthiest 7,500 families in America.  This is absurd.

Over 6 million workers in America would directly benefit from a two-step raise in the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 per hour.  It's time that the Republican leadership stopped playing games with these workers and allowed for an up or down vote when the Congress returns from recess.

Campaigning in my hometown of Syracuse and throughout the 25th District of New York has been one of the most valuable learning experiences of my life. I am thankful to have the opportunity to meet voters at parades, festivals, rallies and other community events and even more thankful to have the opportunity to hear from voters. Believe it or not, retail politics has become one of my favorite new pastimes. It allows me an opportunity to listen to the concerns of real people, not beltway insiders.

Day after day I’ve learned what voters want in their Representative. It’s rather simple actually. They want leadership. I firmly believe that no seat is safe in 2006. People are, quite frankly, fed up with a Congress they perceive to be doing absolutely nothing to helping make their lives better.

Voters in my district believe that we need new priorities in Iraq. Beltway pundits debate each other everyday as to whether or not we’re involved in a “civil war.

No amount of Republican spin will hide the following: nearly five years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the bipartisan 9/11 Commission gave the Republican-controlled government 5 "F's", 12 "D's", and 2 "Incompletes" for poor progress in terrorism prevention and readiness. In fact, just this weekend, the Republican Chairman of the 9/11 Commission said "We're not protecting our own people in this country. The government is not doing its job." Clearly the Republicans have been spending more time on rhetoric than producing results, whether it comes to port security, airline screening, or capturing Osama Bin Laden.

Democrats, however, have been fighting for tough, comprehensive policies that will protect America and restore our leadership in the world. Our Real Security Agenda provides a framework of forward-looking policies that addresses all aspects of our national security, from our homeland security to our energy security, and is a central part of how we plan to lead American in a new direction.

We're going to try to get this appropriations bill conferenced during August. Also, our strategic reserve is depleted, and if you don't have a strategic reserve of forces, then our troops are undeployable.

I'd like to see us pass the permanent tax repeal package - whether it's a compromise between the House and Senate or not.  I don't know what they're going to hold until after the elections, but the agenda will change depending on what happens in the elections.

Our #1 priority is to make sure during the August recess that the many good candidates we have running aren't carpet-bombed by GOP attacks. We have a whole plate of business that Congress can be working on.  I'm not optimistic that in the month of September we will move forward on these important issues.  We haven't moved forward on the minimum wage, the energy package is weighted toward oil and gas companies.  I'd like to move forward but I don't have a whole lot of confidence that the Republican Congress would.

I was outraged when I saw that the DSCC released a video titled "Feel Safer?," intending to highlight the "gap between the GOP rhetoric and the GOP record on security."  It reminded me of when the DCCC released a fundraising video depicting flag-draped coffins and invoking 9/11, which they later pulled after Republicans and Democrats called for it to be taken down.

In this time of terrorist plots by Islamic extremists, the Democrats trivialize our national security.  They think this is a game.

Last week, America's counterterrorism efforts thwarted a plan to detonate passenger planes in mid-air across the U.S.  I encourage the Democrats to continue releasing these videos, which contradict national headlines and demonstrate their loose grip on reality.  With our nation in a war against Islamic extremists, it's good for the American people to consider 'WWPD' - 'What Would Pelosi Do?'