Nominations
President Bush believes that judges should strictly and faithfully interpret the law, rather than legislate from the bench. He has appointed judges to the Federal courts who share his judicial philosophy, and his appointees have been rated the best qualified of any recent Administration by the American Bar Association. No nominee to the Federal courts of appeals had ever been filibustered prior to the Bush Administration, but a minority of Senate Democrats has conspired to filibuster ten of President Bush's judicial nominees. President Bush will continue his efforts to end this obstructionist behavior.
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Social Security
Social Security is sound for today's seniors and for those nearing retirement, but it needs to be fixed for younger workers - our children and grandchildren. The government has made promises it cannot afford to pay for, with the current pay-as-you-go system. If we do not act to fix Social Security now, the only solutions will be dramatically higher taxes, massive new borrowing or sudden and severe cuts in Social Security benefits or other government programs.
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Safety & Security
President Bush is committed to keeping the nation strong and secure through strengthening our military, deploying a missile defense, strengthening the NATO alliance and supporting military families and veterans. The President is committed to promoting an independent and democratic Iraq to ensure further stability in the Middle East and the world on the whole.
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Jobs & Economy
America's growing economy requires a flexible, highly skilled workforce, and the President is committed to providing American workers with the training that they need to succeed. President Bush has put forth an ambitious agenda to ensure that America's economy remains the most prosperous in the world and believes we must ensure every adult can access the training necessary to close the skills gap in America.
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Legal Reform
The President supports curbing lawsuit abuse with needed medical liability reform by: 1. Securing the ability of injured patients to get quick, unlimited compensation for their "economic losses," including the loss of ability to provide unpaid services like care for children or parents. 2. Ensuring recoveries for non-economic damages do not exceed a reasonable amount ($250,000). 3. Reserving punitive damages for egregious cases where they are justified, and limiting damages to reasonable amounts. 4. Providing for payments of judgments over time rather than in a single lump sum, to ensure that appropriate payments are made when patients need them. 5. Ensuring that old cases cannot be brought to court years after an event; and 6. Providing that defendants pay judgments in proportion to their fault.
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Asbestos-Related Diseases
The President's agenda also includes providing victims of asbestos-related diseases a fair system and a long-term solution. The current system may leave little or no funds to pay current and future asbestos victims, is costly to administer (future transaction costs are estimated at between $145 and $210 billion), will impose large, indirect costs on the economy, and has driven exposed defendants, including small businesses, into bankruptcy. The President has stressed the need for reform and commended Congress for aggressively working on this problem, but more work needs to be done to pass legislation for the President to sign that provides a fair and permanent solution.
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