DNC: Straight talk on Cheney and Daniels

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Contact: Damien LaVera of Democratic National Committee, 202-863-8148

WASHINGTON, April 21 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Vice President Cheney today will headline a fundraiser for the Republican National Committee at the prestigious Columbia Club in Indianapolis. According to media reports, Republican Governor Mitch Daniels will join Cheney at a roundtable and luncheon that will cost up to $10,000 per couple. (Indianapolis Star, 4/19/06)

While Cheney and Daniels are raising thousands of dollars in special interest cash, Indiana's working families are feeling the effect of failed Republican leadership in Washington and Indianapolis. The Daniels Administration, the Bush Administration and the Republican Congress have failed to provide middle class tax relief, failed to reduce the cost of health care, and failed to help working families address skyrocketing energy costs. No wonder Republican Governor Mitch Daniels, with an approval rating of 35 percent in recent polls, is the fourth least popular governor in the country, and President Bush has seen his approval rating in Indiana drop to a paltry 40 percent. (Survey USA, 4/12/06; Survey USA, 4/18/06)

"While Governor Daniels and Vice President Cheney are raising thousands of dollars in special interest cash today, they should take a minute or two to explain why Republicans in Indiana and Washington have refused to put working families first," said Democratic National Committee spokesman Damien LaVera. "Families who are struggling to pay for skyrocketing gas prices, health care costs and college tuitions at a time when average household incomes are falling know that the Bush-Daniels economy isn't working for them.

"The people of Indiana want change, not more of the same failed economic agenda from Bush Republicans like Dick Cheney and Mitch Daniels. That is why Democrats are offering a bold agenda of strong leadership that will provide the American people with real security-national security and homeland security, as well as health care security, economic security, and retirement security."

The following is a fact sheet on how the misplaced priorities of the Bush Republicans have undermined the economic security of Indiana's working families:

President Bush Has the Worst Jobs Record Since Herbert Hoover. Despite adding 234,000 jobs in February, President Bush still has the worst jobs record since Herbert Hoover. Further, 2.9 million manufacturing jobs have been lost on his watch. (Office of the House Democratic Leader, 4/17/06)

INDIANA FACT: While more than 5,600 jobs and 69,400 manufacturing jobs have been lost in Indiana, since 2000, President Bush's budget would slash funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership by 58 percent, eliminate the Advanced Technology Program, and cut $26,221,000 in funding for vocational education in Indiana. (CPS, 10/05; Budget of the US Government, 2/06; FFIS, 2/06)

Family Incomes Down Steadily, with Stagnant Wages and Debt Up. Real household income has fallen steadily during the Bush Administration, for a drop of $1,669 since 2001. The median wage has been flat or fallen for three years in a row. A new report by the Federal Reserve Board shows that median household debt climbed 34 percent to $55,300, so that families were spending nearly 15 percent of their incomes on paying interest on their debt. Workers' buying power continues to erode as average weekly earnings have dropped in the last year in real terms. (Office of the House Democratic Leader, 4/17/06)

INDIANA FACT: On President Bush's watch, median household income in Indiana has dropped $2,497 to $42,327. (US Census)

Americans are Paying Sky-High Gas Prices and Home Heating Costs. Gas prices are high and rising, squeezing the pocketbooks of middle-class families. This week families are paying $2.59 a gallon on average for regular gasoline -- up 35 cents a gallon in the last six weeks, and 78 percent higher than in 2001. And experts expect that gas prices could rise another 30 cents a gallon this summer, in part due to changes in the energy bill. The price of crude oil continues at more than $65 a barrel. Home heating costs are still high, with families having to pay more than $100 more than last year, and 62 percent more than the first winter of the Bush presidency. (CBS News, 3/13/06)

INDIANA FACT: This January, in the face of an anticipated 74 percent increase in home heating costs in the Midwest, President Bush refused to include extra funds for low-income home energy assistance (LIHEAP) this winter in his budget--even though the number of applicants for assistance has increased by 17,164 in Indiana. (EIA, 1/06; National Energy Assistance Directors Association, 12/05)

Families are Paying Much More for Health Care. For the past five years, health care costs have increased by almost 70 percent, burdening hard-working families with added costs not covered by increases in their paychecks and driving up the number of uninsured to a staggering 45 million. (Census, 8/05; KFF, 2005)

IOWA FACT: There are 872,000 people without health insurance in Indiana, an increase of 198,000 since 2000. (CPS, 10/05) The cost of health insurance has increased by $1,679 - a 120 percent increase. (KFF 2005; MEPS 2005) President Bush's budget would cut Medicare by $36 billion over the next five years, resulting in $530,913,830 in cuts to hospitals, nursing homes, and home health providers serving seniors and people with disabilities in Indiana.(The Health Economics and Outcomes Research Institute at Greater New York Hospital Association, 2/06)

Minimum Wage Has Not Increased Since 1997, Has Lost 14 Percent of Its Buying Power. The minimum wage of $5.15 an hour has not been increased since 1997. The inflation-adjusted value of the minimum wage is 26 percent lower today than it was in 1979 and in real dollars, $5.15 an hour minimum wage is worth just $4.42. If the minimum wage had just kept pace with inflation since 1968 when it was a $1.60 an hour, minimum wage would be $8.88 an hour in 2005. ( http://www.aflcio.org )

Bush Tax Cuts Have Flattened Tax Rates, Helping Only The Very Wealthy. "Without any fanfare or philosophical debate, millionaires and middle-class Americans now pay taxes at almost the same rates. So what about the fantastic growth waiting to burst forth? Has leveling out federal income tax rates produced a cornucopia of financial benefits? The answer is probably yes if you're a millionaire. And probably no if you're almost anyone else. Flattened, and thus lower, tax rates have contributed to huge increases in the wealth of the wealthy, but so far most people haven't seen significant economic improvement." (Los Angeles Times, 4/17/06)

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=64360

You can view photos from yesterday's protest in Indy here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/austinspace/131142518/in/photostream/