Announcements
Democratic Response to State of the State
February 6, 2009
The Democratic response by Senate Majority Leader Zeb Little of Cullman to Republican Gov. Bob Riley's State of the State speech:Good evening.
I'm Senator Zeb Little, majority leader of the state senate and member of the Senate Democratic Caucus.
We agree with Governor Riley that we should have strong ethics reform, but we also think our priority needs to be helping the people of Alabama. We think the state of the state address ought to be about you. The address should really be about YOUR state, the state of YOUR lives, the state of YOUR families.
We should focus on what is happening with your families, NOT what is happening with state government.
We are in the middle of an economic meltdown unseen in our lifetime. Every Alabamian and every Alabama community is impacted. Folks are losing their jobs, and unemployment is now at 7 percent. And it's going to get worse.
And when you lose your job, you lose your health care. You've probably already lost half of your savings for retirement, or for college, if you had them. Others are losing their homes in foreclosure while credit card companies scheme to raise your rates for any excuse they can find. Bottom line: Our families are under financial assault.
On top of all that, state budgets are facing tremendous financial pressure as well. It is these times - when we have the least revenues - that we need the most leadership. Leadership sets priorities, and it is time that YOU and YOUR family became OUR priority again. When you prioritize, two things become clear: What you must do and what you must not do. It is wrong to balance this budget on the backs of our schoolchildren.
It is wrong to cut health care for our kids and workers.
It is wrong to cut funding to our seniors.
It is wrong every time.
Likewise, priorities tell us clearly what we must do: Help Alabama families. And that is exactly what the Senate Democratic Caucus plans to do.
We will enact the Homeowners Protection Act, giving homeowners new protections against foreclosure by mortgage holders.
For Alabama soldiers killed in the line of duty, we will forbid anyone from foreclosing on the family's home for 180 days, one of the strongest foreclosure protections in the nation. We will license every mortgage broker and mortgage originator, and we will make it a felony for them to commit fraud against home buyers.
Our Caucus will create the Alabama Stimulus Plan, our plan to create jobs in every county of Alabama - every single one.
Our stimulus plan will increase investment in home mortgages, a move that will help more than 10,000 Alabama families buy new homes at lower interest rates.
And we will invest $1 billion in state money over 10 years to build new state highways, county roads and bridges and mandate that every Alabama county -every single one -receive funding for important transportation projects. And that means new jobs.
We will expand our children's health insurance program, and by using federal stimulus funds, we can provide health care for an additional 50,000 Alabama children this year - 50,000 children.
As you can see, the Senate Democratic Caucus priority is clear: Your family is our priority.
There are those who say we cannot afford to do this. I say that we cannot afford not to. This is the promise of Alabama, and these are the priorities of Alabama Democrats. These are priorities - not for this year - but for a lifetime.
To our Republican colleagues we say: Let us work together to make these priorities a reality for Alabama families.
And we make a personal pledge to you: We will fight anyone - Republican or Democrat - who tries to hurt our schools, hurt our seniors, raise our taxes, or jeopardize our safety.
We are excited by this agenda, and we are excited about Alabama's future. Alabama has seen tough economic times before. But we have a secret weapon: the best people on earth. Your resilience, your hard work, your commitment to family and community, all enveloped in a strong faith in God - those Alabama values so deeply ingrained in each and everyone of us those values endure - and those values will triumph in good times and bad.
If we combine those values with leadership, vision and priorities - we will prevail. The Senate Democratic Caucus comes to work every single day thinking about one thing: What can we do to improve the lives of everyday Alabamians - each and every one of you.
You should be the focus of this session.
Your family.
Your schools.
Your health.
Your values.
Your life.
Democrats are ready to go to work for you.
God bless you. God bless the great state of Alabama. And God bless America.