Statement by Edward J. McElroy,
President, American Federation of Teachers,
On the 2006 State of the Union

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Once again, President Bush has failed to meet his responsibility to deal adequately with education and healthcare, two of the most critical issues facing Americans today.  We need a president who leads us in taking on the challenges facing disadvantaged students, the elderly and working families instead of making small-scale proposals that do little to address the problems facing our nation.
 
Before the No Child Left Behind Act can be described as a success, the Administration will have to do more than approve a few tweaks of flexibility for selected states.  There are very serious problems with the law that need to be addressed, including misidentifying many schools that are making real progress but labeled as failing federal standards.  Further, these schools are being deprived of the resources promised when NCLB was enacted to give students and teachers the tools to help raise student achievement.  
 
We agree that our public schools, especially those with large numbers of disadvantaged students, need more highly qualified math and science teachers to help their students become competitive in the global economy.  There is a teacher shortage in these areas and our schools need the best minds to teach our children.  Whatever action Congress takes must be more than paying lip service.  It must provide a meaningful difference to the schools and students who need it most and help our nation continue to lead the world in innovation and in the international marketplace.
 
Concerning our nation’s healthcare crisis, proposals such as tax breaks for individual medical spending and for health savings accounts (HSAs) are not the prescription needed to cure this situation.  The tradeoff for working people who might receive a small tax break but then have to purchase health insurance in a very expensive market while their employers begin to free themselves of any responsibility in this area is unacceptable.  The capacity of low-income workers to contribute to these funds is uncertain and may lead to more uncompensated care, which will ultimately increase healthcare costs for all Americans.

Likewise, the Medicare prescription plans hatched by this Administration are so convoluted that they are a disincentive for seniors to get the medications they need.  These plans must be made easier to understand and not force seniors to pay more for less.
 
Our nation faces significant challenges, which the President either has failed to recognize or deal with adequately. Our nation remains the strongest and most resourceful in the world, and we have the capacity, wisdom, and strength to develop bold new initiatives that will truly address the very serious issues America faces.  Now is the time to take that action, and the AFT will work to achieve these goals.

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