Craig, Cantwell praise call for alternative fuels

Waiting for a few minutes in front of the television cameras after the president’s speech Tuesday night, Republican Larry Craig of Idaho and Democrat Maria Cantwell of Washington exchanged a quick “high five.”

President Bush had mentioned an initiative the two senators have been pushing through Congress – making ethanol from wood chips.

Craig praised the address as “distinctly different,” solid on substance. Cantwell thought the president could have spent more time on domestic problems.

But Bush’s call for more alternative sources of energy, including fuel from wood waste, struck a chord with both.

“He seems to have gotten religion on alternative fuels,” said Cantwell, who added the administration opposed some of her proposals on the topic a year ago. “If he does, I’m going to take advantage of it.”

Craig and his seatmate, Sen. Mike Crapo, said the call for alternative fuels shows the president recognizes the need for the country to wean itself from fossil fuels.

That may seem ironic, considering that Bush was once in the oil business, Crapo said. But it shows “an amazing amount of character,” he said, and a recognition that too much foreign oil comes from dangerous places.

Overall, Republicans gave Bush’s speech high marks.

Rep. Cathy McMorris, R-Wash., called it an important message that addressed timely topics. She was particularly pleased that Bush talked about energy self-sufficiency and called for “wider use of electronic records and other health information technology.”

Such a system is being developed in Spokane by Inland Northwest Health Services and could be a national model that could cut health care costs, McMorris said.

But in talking about health care, Cantwell and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., thought the president should have mentioned his new Medicare prescription drug plan, known as Part D. The plan is causing confusion and chaos for senior citizens across the country, Murray said, and he could have done something to reassure seniors that the problems are being addressed. “Something as simple as ‘I’m committed to getting it fixed.’ This was his chance to speak to the country.”

Republicans applauded his call for making certain tax cuts permanent. “The tax cuts have driven this economy,” Craig said.

Democrats were skeptical of Bush’s calls for permanent tax cuts, coupled with spending for new programs in education, energy and AIDS, and a promise of a deficit cut in half by 2009.

Murray was also concerned about Bush’s promise to reduce or eliminate 140 discretionary programs from his 2007 budget, to be released Monday, saying those cuts could target programs like student loans, Medicaid and investments in port security.

“I don’t buy that that makes our country strong,” she said. “I am deeply concerned that he didn’t mention the word ‘veteran.’ To me, that points to not understanding the sacrifice of war.”

Members of both parties said they’d support a commission to study changes in Social Security and Medicaid, which takes the president in a different direction from previous calls to overhaul the national pension system.