"Maybe I'm missing something here. I mean, we're going to have kind of a nation-building corps from America? Absolutely not."
George W. Bush, October 11 2000
Currently, the Department of Defense has budgeted over $140 billion in 2008 for Iraq and Afghanistan. Under President Bush, the U.S. has appropriated over $600 billion for activities relating to Iraq and Afghanistan.
"I made a pledge... to help rebuild New York and to take care of the tragedy that befell that magnificent city.... This is the right thing to do, it's the absolute right position for our government to take."
President George W. Bush, March 7 2002
In July, the Government Accountability Office reported that the federal government still fails to provide adequate health monitoring to many of the first responders who reported to the World Trade Center site on September 11, 2001.
"From the rubble of destroyed homes we can see the beginnings of vibrant new neighborhoods. From the despair of lives torn asunder we can see the hope of rebirth. And from the depth of darkness we can see a bright dawn emerging over the Gulf Coast and the great city of New Orleans."
President George W. Bush, September 17 2005
The New York Times reported in July that there are "still more than 30,000 families displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita spread across the country." There are 13,000 families left in makeshift trailer parks, "where hunger is so prevalent that lines form when the truck from the food bank appears."
They report that only one hospital in New Orleans is working at its former capacity, and four out of seven are closed. There are two-thirds fewer hospital beds available in New Orleans.
"We honor the memory of all lost miners today; that's what we're doing signing this bill. We make this promise to American miners and their families: We'll do everything possible to prevent mine accidents and make sure you're able to return safely to your loved ones."
President George W. Bush, June 15 2006
This week, three workers were killed in an Indiana mine accident. Six coal miners remain trapped in Utah. Their voices have not been heard.
"[W]e just came from the 17th Street levee. A lot of folks are working hard to repair that levee. They've been working around the clock, 24 hours a day. People from the federal government and the state government and the local government are working to breach that -- to fill that breach."
President George W. Bush, September 2 2005
The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates it would cost $1.6 trillion over 5 years "to bring the nation's infrastructure to good condition". In July, a pipe in New York City's century-old steam system exploded in midtown Manhattan, killing one woman and giving one man third-degree burns over 80 percent of his body and a woman burns on 30 percent of hers. On August 1, a bridge collapsed in Minneapolis, killing at least 8 people. The ones most recently identified among the dead were a 23-year old woman and her daughter. The woman was five months pregnant.
"Rebuilding a nation devastated by a dictator is a large undertaking."
President George W. Bush, December 7 2005
Amen.