Fred Harteis News Articles - Bush to Democrats: Let's cooperate to 'achieve big things'

Fred Harteis News Articles - Faced with a widely unpopular war in Iraq and a Democratic Congress, President Bush urged lawmakers to work with him to "achieve big things for the American people," in his State of the Union address.

"Our citizens don't much care which side of the aisle we sit on, as long as we are willing to cross that aisle when there is work to be done," Bush said Tuesday night.

"Our job is to make life better for our fellow Americans, and help them to build a future of hope and opportunity -- and this is the business before us tonight."

The president will announce a raft of health care, energy and environmental proposals in the 50-minute speech, which began at 9 p.m.

Poll numbers indicate he faces an uphill battle as voters 2-to-1 are dissatisfied with his leadership.

Bush said he wants to balance the federal budget without raising taxes.

"In the coming weeks, I will submit a budget that eliminates the federal deficit within the next five years."

Bush also said he wants to do away with earmarks attached to legislation, which in 2005 accounted for $18 billion in taxpayer money.

Cutting dependence on oil
The U.S. should reduce gasoline consumption by 20 percent over 10 years, he said.

The president's plan includes tightening fuel economy standards on automakers and producing 35 billion gallons of renewable fuel such as ethanol by 2017, he said.

One official has said the moves would be equivalent to taking 26 million vehicles off U.S. roads.

"For too long our nation has been dependent on foreign oil. And this dependence leaves us more vulnerable to hostile regimes, and to terrorists -- who could cause huge disruptions of oil shipments...raise the price of oil ... and do great harm to our economy," Bush said.

"It is in our vital interest to diversify America's energy supply -- and the way forward is through technology."

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Source; Cnn.com

About Fred Harteis: Fred Harteis leads Harteis International. Fred Harteis has a background in agriculture and has created many successful business ventures.