Amerikai Magyar Újság, 2004 (40. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2004-10-01 / 10. szám
2004. október AMERIKAI MAGYAR ÚJSÁG 15 THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION RECORD President Bush welcomed seven new members from Central and Eastern Europe into the NATO Alliance: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. President Bush has launched a massive effort to defeat terrorism and to protect and defend America. Since the terrorist attacks on September 11th, the United States and its allies have engaged in two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq where 50 million people have been liberated from two of the world’s most brutal regimes and the terrorists’ foreign operating bases are being taken away. Massive damage has been inflicted on al Qaeda and its terror allies. Of those directly involved in organizing the September 11th attacks, almost all are now in custody or confirmed dead. Of the senior al Qaeda and associated leaders the United States has been tracking more than two-thirds have been detained, captured, or killed. President Bush sponsored creation of the Department of Homeland Security. The Bush Administration developed a comprehensive National Strategy for Homeland Security, focused on six key areas: intelligence and warning; border and transportation security; domestic counter-terrorism; protecting critical infrastructure; defending against catastrophic threats; and emergency preparedness and response. President Bush signed into law the USA Patriot Act, a law that gives intelligence and law enforcement officials important new tools to fight terrorists. This legislation has prevented terrorist attacks and saved American lives. The dramatic increase in information sharing allowed by the Patriot Act has enabled law enforcement to find and dismantle terror cells in Portland, Oregon; Lackawanna, New York; and Northern Virginia. President Bush signed into law Project BioShield, a new 5.6 billion dollar program to develop vaccines and other medical responses to biological, chemical, nuclear and radiological weapons. President Bush has doubled investment in a missile defense system. The U.S. will soon deploy a missile defense system to protect the American people from nuclear threats posed by rogue nations. Despite the inheritance of a recession and the war on terrorism over 1.5 million jobs have been created during the Bush Administration. The unemployment rate is 5.4%. The Bush Administration has provided the largest tax cut in over 20 years, with the average tax cut being $1,586. The Bush Administration signed into law a Prescription Drug Benefit that will enable beneficiaries who now do not have coverage to cut their yearly chug costs approximately in half. During the Bush Administration violent crime is down to its lowest point in the last three decades. President Bush has appointed judges who will strictly interpret the law. President Bush is opposed to immigration amnesty. The Bush Administration has increased the size of the Border Patrol by more that 1,000 agents. The Border Patrol is also installing monitoring devices along the borders to detect illegal activity. President Bush signed legislation to end partial birth abortion - a procedure the late Democratic Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan described as “as close to infanticide as anything I have come upon.” President Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind Act, which promotes student achievement, accountability and greater choices for parents in education. President Bush has proposed an energy plan to promote affordable energy supplies through conservation, investment in new technology and finding and producing new domestic sources of energy. Since President Bush has been in office, basic pay for service members has increased by more then 20% and the increase in payments for food and housing combined has reached 50%. President Bush has proposed higher levels of funding for veterans. The President’s budgets have enabled 2.5 million more veterans to enroll for health care.
