Tim Walz: “it's hard for this Congress to get President Bush to prioritize the needs of the middle-class families when he refuses…”

“it's hard for this Congress to get President Bush to prioritize the needs of the middle-class families when he refuses to face reality and chooses to govern by veto rather than vision. Yesterday, the President surprised a lot of us when he said the economy is perfectly strong. That's news to them. You don't need the polls to tell you that the American people are deeply concerned about this economy. Who can blame them? With home values and wages dropping, and health care costs, home heating costs, gasoline costs, college tuition costs and food costs all rising, the hardworking American middle class is trying to make ends meet. This Congress is not satisfied with the economic status quo that serves a very few at the very top. We've made progress over the last year easing the economic crunch. We passed legislation to address the subprime mortgage crisis, increased the minimum wage, passed legislation that cut taxes on middle-class families and made college more affordable by investing in our children. We're proud of these accomplishments, but we know the American middle class is still struggling. And we look forward to working on creative solutions that actually address the problem instead of simply vetoing with no leadership.”