Maine delegation divided on Bush’s State of the Union

PORTLAND – Maine’s two Republican senators applauded President Bush’s State of the Union speech Tuesday, citing his recognition of the sacrifices made by U.S. forces in the war on terrorism and his concerns about rising health care costs and the nation’s dependence on imported oil.

But the state’s two Democratic congressmen faulted the president’s proposal for health savings accounts and expressed alarm about increases in the federal budget deficit.

“Tonight, the president outlined an anemic agenda, inadequate to the challenges America faces in the 21st century,” Rep. Tom Allen said.

Sen. Olympia Snowe emphasized the need for Bush and Congress to set partisan rancor aside and work together to forge solutions on issues such as the escalating health care crisis that has left 46 million Americans uninsured.

“This evening, the president set the appropriate tone for the coming year in laying out a realistic agenda, vision and bipartisan tone for these challenging times,” she said.

While asserting that the nation must remain resolute against terrorists, Snowe said, “the Iraqi people must take hold of their own destiny and security, ultimately allowing our courageous troops to return home.”

On energy, she praised Bush’s goal of replacing 75 percent of oil imports from the Middle East and his recognition that addiction to foreign oil poses economic, environmental and national security concerns.

Sen. Susan Collins characterized Bush’s message as strong and uplifting, saying he provided a clear outline of the agenda for the coming year.

Collins commended the president for addressing the energy issue and said she was particularly pleased at his proposal to provide additional funding to produce energy from wood chips, a technology already being practiced in Maine.

Allen said administration energy policies over the past five years have fed the addiction to imported oil that Bush has only now sought to address.

“There is no substitute for a truly comprehensive energy plan that stresses energy efficiency, renewable energy resources and investment in tomorrow’s technologies,” he said.

Rep. Michael Michaud was skeptical about health savings accounts, saying they do nothing to solve the health care crisis and simply shift the burden onto families.

Michaud warned that all of Bush’s proposals can be undercut by a record federal debt that may soon require that 20 cents of every tax dollar be set aside to pay the interest.

Pat Colwell, chairman of the Maine Democratic Party, blasted the speech, calling it “more of the same – more tax cuts for the rich, more government handouts to oil companies and more empty political rhetoric.”

Colwell said Bush was trying to cast himself as a reformer but offered no solutions to rampant corruption in Washington.