News

Press Releases

Smith Calls for Bipartisan Taskforce on Ethics

April 15, 2005

U.S. Congressman Adam Smith (D-Tacoma) made the following statement calling for the creation of a bipartisan taskforce on ethics:

"Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives had the opportunity to create a bipartisan task force with the responsibility to restore public confidence in the ethics process and to report its findings to the House,” said Smith. “I’m concerned that decisions have been made with regards to House ethics rules on a partisan basis, without proper consultation from both sides of the aisle. I’m disappointed that the majority of my Republican colleagues did not join me yesterday in taking action to ensure that the ethics process in the House is fair and that public confidence can be restored.”

 

U.S. Rep. Adam Smith Statement on the Passage of the Bankruptcy Bill

April 14, 2005

U.S. Rep. Adam Smith made the following statement today concerning bankruptcy reform:

“Our current bankruptcy system should be reformed. As a matter of personal responsibility, people should, whenever possible, pay off the debts that they have incurred. However, the bankruptcy bill that was before the U.S. House of Representatives today was a missed opportunity to create a reform bill that both promoted personal responsibility and was fair and balanced,” said Smith. “This bill failed to close troubling loopholes, like the homestead exemptions which allow wealthy Americans to shield money in real estate and the creation of trusts where people can hide assets that can’t be touched during bankruptcy proceeding. I’m am also troubled by the growing trend in which credit card companies are actively marketing their products to those who can least afford to take on additional high-interest credit.  This legislation does little to discourage this damaging practice. The Republican House leadership failed to allow any Democratic amendments that could have offered balanced solutions for closing loopholes, protecting consumers and bolstering personal responsibility. Instead, partisan politics shaped this flawed bill and it was because of these flaws I voted against its passage today.”

U.S. Representative Adam Smith Statement on the Death of Pope John Paul II

April 2, 2005

U.S. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Tacoma) made the following statement today on the death of Pope John Paul II:

“The world has lost a visionary leader with the passing of Pope John Paul II. He was a man who possessed empathy for people around the world and whose diplomatic efforts helped bring about the end of the Cold War. He will be remembered as a man who led efforts to help the poor in numerous nations and on all continents and was an inspiration to us all. I join with my fellow Americans in this time of sorrow in remembering a man of compassion and integrity.”

U.S. Representative Adam Smith to Travel to Thailand and Japan

March 28, 2005

U.S. Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) will be traveling today to Thailand and Japan to attend a series of meetings and a forum on global sustainable development initiatives, trade, and global poverty. Smith, a member of the House International Relations Committee, has a strong interest in sustainable development issues and how these tie into the broader picture of global security and poverty.

Smith will participate in the Trade and Poverty Forum (TPF) in Nagoya, Japan. The TPF is a project of the German Marshall Fund of the United States and is an independent group of prominent citizens from some of the world’s leading developing and industrialized democracies including the U.S., Europe, Japan, India, Brazil and South Africa. The goal of the forum will be to advance concrete, consensus-based trade reform proposals, particularly on agriculture, that could form the basis of an agreement in the current round of World Trade Organization (WTO), the Doha Round.  Smith will serve on a panel called “Trade Reform – State of the Doha Round: Agriculture and Beyond”.

Smith will also be visiting with officials in Thailand to discuss bilateral economic relations and learn about Thailand’s efforts to combat poverty and promote sustainable development. Some of the officials Smith will meet with in Thailand include the Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Thai Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, the U.S. Ambassador to Thailand and members of the American business community in Bangkok.

“The ability to travel and meet with officials and NGOs fighting the global war on poverty first-hand is critical to my understanding of the issues,” said Smith. “I can receive briefings in my District and in Washington, D.C., but you learn so much more when you’re on the ground and meeting with people who work on these issues every single day. Global poverty is a force that is very destabilizing to the global economy, but it also has far reaching consequences for global health and security. Global poverty is directly linked to conflicts throughout the world. Through sustainable development initiatives, we will be able to reduce poverty levels in developing nations and work to create a safer and secure global environment.”

Smith will be returning at the end of the Spring Congressional recess.

U.S. Representative Adam Smith Statement on Passage of FY06 Budget Resolution

March 18, 2005

U.S. Representative Adam Smith (D-Tacoma) made the following statement today concerning the passage of the FY06 Budget Resolution:

"I am disappointed that, once again, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a budget that is fiscally irresponsible, that underfunds investment to key priorities like education, health care, law enforcement and Veteran's benefits. This year, the federal government has a projected deficit of $427 billion - the largest in our Nation's history according to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).  But this year's numbers are simply the latest in a horrible trend.  Two years ago, we had a deficit of $375 billion.  Last year we had a deficit of $412 billion. Each of those deficits set the record for highest deficits of that time.  More troubling is that, unless we change our policies, our existing debt of almost $8 trillion will continue to explode. 

The budget passed yesterday contains no plan to bring the budget back to balance and even fails to show any deficit figures at all after 2010. I voted for a Democratic alternative budget that increases funding for education and our veterans.  At the same time, the alternative budget that I supported reaches balance in 2012 and included pay-as-you-go rules that ensures the government pays for any new spending, and results in $182 billion less public debt than the Republican budget at the end of the first five years.

The Republican majority chose to reject this budget alternative and adopted a resolution that impairs our economic growth and hurts some of our most vulnerable citizens, our children and our disabled veterans.

The Republican budget resolution is bad for public education. We must invest in our future and K-12 and higher education are crucial to ensuring that our nation remains competitive and vibrant. Yet, the Republican resolution cuts funding for education programs by $2.6 billion for 2006 and $38 billion over the next five years. These cuts include all $1.3 billion for vocational education and other elementary, secondary and college aid programs. The Democratic alternative budget actually provided $4.5 billion more for 2006 appropriations for education, training, and social services. This funding would not only have preserved current education programs, but it also would have supported increases in high priority programs such as access to post-secondary education.

I was also particularly troubled by the manner in which the Republican budget treats veterans. With our continued presence in military operations around the world, including on-going commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan, we will have more wounded soldiers coming home who will need access to quality health care.  Instead of ensuring that all of our veterans will have access to this critical resource, the Republican budget resolution cuts veterans' health care.  Over the next five years, this critical area is funded at $14 billion below current levels.  Additionally, the Republican resolution requires the Veterans' Affairs Committee to make $798 million in cuts to other veteran's benefits over the next five years. This cut can only be achieved by imposing new fees for veterans' health care, or by reducing veterans' benefits such as disability pay, pension benefits or education benefits. This is wrong. The Democratic alternative budget that I voted for contains $1.6 billion more than the Republican budget for veterans' health care programs for 2006 and $17 billion more over the next five years, while still continuing to reduce the deficit.

The lack of fiscal responsibility and cuts to necessary funding for areas such as veterans are just some of the reasons why I voted against the Republican budget resolution. It is time for Members of Congress to get serious about fiscal responsibility and begin to take steps to get our country's budget on the right track. If we continue to spend without restraint, whether it is for tax cuts or program spending, we are placing the economic burden on future generations instead of dealing with the problem now.  We must have an open and honest debate with Americans about what we can truly afford.  We must continue to fight for budgets that are fiscally responsible and preserve the best of American values and ideals.”

« First < Prev Next > Last »