Media Center

Today Congressman David Scott issued the following statement in response to President Bush’s State of the Union address:

“Following tonight’s State of the Union address, I join with President Bush in celebrating Sunday’s election in Iraq as an extraordinary victory. Our soldiers in Iraq and those who lost their lives are the real heroes. I congratulate the President on his leadership and commend the brave people of Iraq who persevered in the face of threats and violence to cast their votes.

“Tonight we heard President Bush reiterate his desire to privatize Social Security. I’m concerned that his private accounts will do nothing to save Social Security but will only add $2 trillion to the deficit and be a burden to young people and future generations.

“In addition, I think it is very unfortunate that the president recently used the lower life expectancy of African-Americans in order to sell his Social Security privatization plan to blacks. Not only is the President relying on bad advice and citing inaccurate statistics, he is ignoring the true problems involved. If he wants to address life expectancy disparities in the African American community, he should commit to addressing the underlying problems such as high infant mortality, young adult death rates, and poor access to health care that causes blacks to die earlier than the general population. I am disappointed that instead President Bush unwisely chose to exploit these disparities for political gain.

“If we are really going to find a lasting solution to Social Security, we must set aside such political games and truly work together in a bipartisan manner.”