Statement by Florida State Fire Marshal and Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher (R)

George W. Bush ^ | July 15, 2004

[RWR8189]

TALLAHASSEE, FL — Florida State Fire Marshal and Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher (R) issued the following statement:

"John Kerry's continuous economic pessimism and misery doesn't paint an accurate picture of Florida's economy--one of the strongest in the nation. More than 171,000 Florida jobs have been created in the past year, and more than half of Florida's job growth in May was in industries paying above the national average. President Bush will not be satisfied until every worker who wants a job can find one, but Florida's unemployment of 4.5 percent is more than one percent below the national average.

"The President's increased funding allocations for first responders shows how high a priority he considers protecting the homeland, but John Kerry has missed 24 homeland security votes since last year, including a vote on $29.3 billion in Homeland Security Department funding. The truest indicator of Kerry's priorities is his admission that he hadn't 'had time' for a briefing about terrorist threats on the same day he attended a hate-filled fundraiser where celebrities called the President a 'liar' and a 'thug'. Kerry has his priorities, but they certainly aren't shared by our state's rank-and-file first responders."