WASHINGTON – President Clinton delivered a positive message Tuesday night that a country that had become “very cynical towards government needed to hear,” Republican Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest said.
“I think overall the president did a good job. The country needed to hear a positive, bipartisan speech and with the exception of a couple of things, I think it was just that,” said Gilchrest, of Kennedyville, following the State of the Union address.
Democratic Sens. Barbara Mikulski and Paul Sarbanes, both of Baltimore, also applauded the president’s proposals.
“Above all, he sounded the theme of working together,” Sarbanes said.
“Creating jobs for the future economy, building a trained and educated work force and continuing a public safety strategy focused on policing, prevention and punishment. These are the meat and potatoes of this framework,” Mikulski said.
Gilchrest said the address left him feeling hopeful about future cooperation between Republicans and Democrats.
“The things he said in his speech at least opened the door for future negotiations. It wasn’t negative, he didn’t slam the door shut,” he said.
But Gilchrest also expressed a few concerns, including with the president’s commitment to balancing the budget.
“I think we dragged the president kicking and screaming to the realization that we need to balance the budget,” he said. “The important thing is to do the hard task now. If we don’t have the courage to do it now, future Congresses will be scared off from the task.”
Gilchrest added he was displeased with the president’s blaming Congress for cutting funds for environmental enforcement.
Congress passed an appropriations bill – vetoed by Clinton in December – that would have reduced the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget by 25 percent. “That means more toxic chemicals in our water, more smog in our air, more pesticides in our food,” Clinton said.
Gilchrest said the idea was to try and make the EPA more efficient. “I believe the EPA can live with that cut,” he said. “The fact remains that we have a looming economic crisis because of the debt and the budget crisis, so all the agencies are going to need some streamlining.”
Gilchrest also criticized the president’s environmental track record.
“I think the president has been a bit lax on the environment in his first three years in office. He talks a good line with the environment, but I haven’t seen a lot of substance,” he said.
But Gilchrest said many aspects of Clinton’s speech, which touched upon the need for family values, quality education, individual economic security, a crackdown on crime and balancing the budget, appealed to him.
“When he said … balance the budget, turn the television off, he was tapping into the mainstream of the nation,” he said.
Gilchrest applauded the president’s emphasis on family values, in particular his comments directed at the nation’s media. “Young people and all generations are exposed to too much crudeness and lewdness,” he said.
The Eastern Shore congressman said he has voted for a device endorsed by the president: the “V Chip,” which allows parents to screen out programs on their TV sets that they feel are unsuitable for their children. Gilchrest said he remains a supporter of the chip.
As a parent and former teacher, Gilchrest said he agrees with the president that all parents should be given a choice of where to send their children to school. The president said in his speech that he challenges every state “to give all parents the right to choose which public school their children attend.”
Gilchrest also applauded the president’s comments on crime. Clinton challenged local housing authorities and tenant associations to kick out residents who commit crimes and peddle drugs.
“The rule for residents who commit crimes and peddle drugs should be: One strike and you’re out,” Clinton said.
Capital News Service reporters Jane Taylor and Charles Wolpoff contributed to this story. -30-