Many lawmakers pledge to work with Bush

WASHINGTON - While they oppose President Bush's plan to increase troops in Iraq, Northwest Democrats say they are ready to work with the president on issues such as health care, energy and increasing the minimum wage.

Democrats, who control both houses of Congress for the first time in Bush's presidency, were skeptical Tuesday night about Bush's proposed tax deduction for health insurance - as well as a plan for a sharp cut in gasoline usage - but said they looked forward to working with the president to find common ground.

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said she hopes the president will support bipartisan legislation on energy and other issues.

“What we really want to see is his commitment to work with us, and to sign legislation that we send him,” Cantwell said. “Because I guarantee you this Congress is going to send him very aggressive energy legislation that changes our energy policy.”

Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., welcomed Bush's call, in the annual State of the Union address, for a 20 percent cut in gasoline usage by 2017, but said he was disappointed the president did not go further. The gas cut would be achieved primarily through a sharp increase in the amount of ethanol and other alternative fuels blended into the fuel supply. The rest would come from raising fuel economy standards for passenger cars, a plan that Bush has proposed in the past but failed to win from Congress.

“If the president truly wanted to address global warming, he failed,” said Inslee, who has sponsored a “New Apollo” energy bill that he said would make the United States energy independent.

Bush's plan has no cap on carbon-dioxide emissions and no standard for renewable energy, which Washington state voters adopted last fall, Inslee said.

“The president isn't willing to take on global warming, but Congress stands ready to lead,” Inslee said.

Republicans, meanwhile, welcomed Bush's focus on domestic issues.

“The American people ... very much appreciate our turning our focus to home, on things that affect the lives of every day Americans,” said Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., adding that “there is probably no greater individual concern than health care.”

Smith said he is pushing for legislation to advance stem cell research, parity for mental health insurance coverage and increased coverage for children and the uninsured.

Earlier Tuesday, Smith said he would co-sponsor a resolution offered by Sen. John Warner, R-Va., opposing Bush's plan to send 21,500 more U.S. troops into Iraq.

Smith, an early and hawkish supporter of the Iraq war, told The Associated Press that “this war has devolved far beyond what we authorized,” placing U.S. troops in the middle of a sectarian war between Shiites and Sunnis.

Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, said Bush presented several “bold initiatives” to tackle long-standing problems.

On health care, Craig said Bush's plan “moves us in the right direction,” toward greater transparency in health care costs, competition and portability. “Unfortunately, the accompanying tax increase will be impossible to swallow,” he said.

Under Bush's health plan, contributions from employers toward health insurance would begin to be treated as taxable income. At the same time, a standard deduction for taxpayers with health insurance would be set at $15,000 for families and $7,500 for individuals.

The White House says 80 percent of workers with health insurance through their jobs would see a tax cut as a result of the change. But about 20 percent would see a tax increase - those workers whose health insurance cost more than the standard deduction.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said he was pleased that Bush's plan reforms the tax code but was disappointed that it did not address the practice by insurance companies of “cherry picking” healthy people. Wyden, who has proposed a comprehensive bill to offer universal health insurance coverage, said he spoke to White House officials Tuesday night and pledged to work with them.

From the CEO of Safeway to union leaders, Wyden said his plan has attracted “a widespread coalition that can help them find common ground” with congressional Democrats.

Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., said Bush's proposal provides a starting point for Congress.

“Because health insurance affordability weighs heavily on many Oregon families, I am pleased the president reiterated his commitment to expanding health insurance coverage for uninsured Americans,” he said.

Walden, co-chairman of the bipartisan House Rural Health Care Coalition, said he was especially interested in how the plan would affect rural health care delivery.

Rep. Darlene Hooley, D-Ore., was pleased that Bush focused on reducing health care costs, but said “prices continue to rise each year with no end in sight.”

Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., said Bush had not learned from his mistakes in Iraq.

“He is putting more of our troops at risk for the same failed strategies and tactics. He continues to ignore the advice of Congress, the Iraq Study Group and others,” said Smith, a member of the House Armed Services Committee.

Bush's rhetoric on energy was encouraging, Smith said, but added: “We've heard it before with very little action. The president has said we need to break our addiction to oil, but it is way past time his policies matched his words.”

Among those in attendance at the speech were former U.S. House Speaker Thomas Foley, D-Wash., a guest of new House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

Click here to listen to U.S, Congressman Peter DeFazio's reaction to the State of the Union address