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George Walker Bush (IPA: /ʤɔɹʤ ˈwɔːkəɹ bʊʃ/; born July 6, 1946) is the forty-third and current President of the United States of America. He previously served as the forty-sixth Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000 and is the eldest son of former United States President George Herbert Walker Bush. He was inaugurated as President on January 20, 2001 and his current term is scheduled to end at noon on January 20, 2009.See Section 1 of the Twentieth Amendment
After graduating from college, Bush worked in his family\'s oil businesses. In 1978, he made an unsuccessful run for the U.S. House of Representatives. He later co-owned the Texas Rangers baseball team before returning to politics in a campaign for Governor of Texas. He defeated Ann Richards and was elected Governor of Texas in 1994. Bush was elected to the Presidency in 2000 as the Republican candidate in a close and controversial contest, in which he lost the nationwide popular vote, but won the electoral vote.
President Bush signed into law a $1.35 trillion tax cut program in 2001,$1.35 trillion tax cut becomes law. CNN (2001-06-07). Retrieved on 2007-10-21. and in 2002 the No Child Left Behind Act. In October 2001, after the attacks on September 11, 2001, Bush announced a global War on Terrorism and ordered an invasion of Afghanistan to overthrow the Taliban, destroy Al-Qaeda, and to capture Osama bin Laden. In March 2003, Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq, asserting that Iraq was in possession of weapons of mass destruction and that the war was necessary for the protection of the United States.March 18, 2003 Presidential Letter. Whitehouse.gov (2003-03-19). Retrieved on 2006-05-25.Powell, Colin (February 5, 2003). U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell Addresses the U.N. Security Council. Whitehouse.gov. Retrieved on 2006-05-25.
Running in the midst of the Iraq War,Transcript for Feb. 8th. MSNBC (2004-02-08). Retrieved on 2006-09-09. Bush was re-elected on November 2, 2004;2004 Presidential Election Results his presidential campaign against Senator John Kerry was successful despite controversy over Bush\'s execution of the Iraq War and domestic issues.13 October 2004 "The Third Bush-Kerry Presidential Debate" transcriptCNN\'s exit poll showed Terrorism (19%) and Iraq (15%) as the third and fourth most important issues behind Moral Values (22%) and the Economy (20%) "CNN — U.S. President / National / Exit Poll / Election 2004" After his re-election, Bush received increasingly heated criticism. He has the distinction of having the highest and the one of the lowest approval ratings of any President in history during his term. His domestic approval rating has ranged from 90 percent (the highest ever recorded by The Gallup Organization)"USAT/Gallup Poll: Bush approval at new low; Republican support eroding", USA Today, 10 July 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-28. immediately after the September 11, 2001 attacks, to a low of 28%,"PRESIDENT BUSH – Overall Job Rating in national polls", Polling Report, 13 March 2008. Retrieved on 2008-03-12. ; One poll reported a rating of only 19%: American Research Group: The National Economy. American Research Group (February 20, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-02-20. equal to Jimmy Carter\'s low, and higher only than Richard Nixon\'s lowest rating of 24%, and Harry S. Truman\'s lowest rating of 22%"Bush Equals Jimmy Carter’s Low 29% Approval", Polling Report, 13 March 2008. Retrieved on 2008-03-12. .
Lt. George W. Bush while in the National Guard
Born in New Haven, Connecticut on July 6, 1946, Bush was the first child of George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush (née Pierce). Bush was raised in Midland and Houston, Texas, with his four siblings, Jeb, Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy. Another younger sister, Robin, died in 1953 at the age of three from leukemia.George Walker Bush. Famous Texans. famoustexans.com (2005-02-03). Retrieved on 2006-06-27. Bush\'s grandfather, Prescott Bush, was a U.S. Senator from Connecticut, and his father served as U.S. President from 1989 to 1993.
Bush attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, where he played baseball, and was the head cheerleader at the all-boys school during his senior year.George W. Bush: Living the Bush Legacy. CNN. cnn.com (2000-10-29). Retrieved on 2007-03-18.Nicholas D. Kristof (2000-06-10). George W. Bush\'s Journey The Cheerleader: Earning A\'s in People Skills at Andover. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-06-23. Following in his father\'s footsteps, Bush attended Yale University, where he received a Bachelor\'s degree in history in 1968.Biography of President George W. Bush. The White House. Retrieved on 2007-07-10. As a college senior, Bush became a member of the secretive Skull and Bones society, although, by his own characterization, Bush was an average student.Associated Press. "Self-Deprecating Bush Talks to Yale Grads", FOXNews.com, 2001-05-21. Retrieved on 2006-06-27. Inside Politics. "Bush/Gore Grades and SAT Scores", insidepolitics.org, 2005-06-17. Retrieved on 2007-07-05.
In May 1968, at the height of the ongoing Vietnam War, Bush was accepted into the Texas Air National Guard despiteRomano, Lois (2004-02-03). Bush\'s Guard Service In Question p. A08. The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2007-07-03. only scoring in the 25th percentileUnited States Department of Defense. "Official DoD service records of Texas Air National Guard member George Walker Bush", http://www.defenselink.mil/, 2005-06-17. Retrieved on 2007-07-05. The Innovation Center for Occupational Data, Applications and Practices: Interpretation and Utilization of Scores on the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test on the pilot\'s written aptitude test, which was the lowest acceptable passing grade. This was at a time when more than ten thousand Air National Guard personnel, many fighter pilots, had been called to active duty to serve both in Vietnam, and in support of operations there.United States Air Force, National Guard Bureau Historical Services Division. Vietnam War. Archived from the original on 2006-10-04. Retrieved on 2007-08-08. After training, he was assigned to duty in Houston, flying Convair F-102s out of Ellington Air Force Base.York, Byron. "The Facts about Bush and the National Guard", National Review Online, 2004-08-26. Retrieved on 2007-10-19. Critics have alleged that Bush was favorably treated during his time of service because of his father\'s political standing and that he was irregular in attendance. The United States Department of Defense has released all of the records of Bush\'s Texas Air National Guard service which it says remain in its official archives. In 1970 Bush applied to the University of Texas School of Law and was rejected.Bush Chronology. PBS - Frontline. Retrieved on 2007-10-28. Bush took a transfer to the Alabama Air National Guard in 1972 to work on a Republican senate campaign, and in October 1973 he was discharged from the Texas Air National Guard almost eight months early to attend Harvard Business School and completed his six-year service obligation in the inactive reserve.Brit Hume, Mara Liasson, Jeff Birnbaum, Charles Krauthammer. "The All-Star Panel Discusses John Kerry\'s Shifting Positions on Iraq War Spending", Fox News Network (transcript), 2004-07-09. (English)
There are a number of accounts of substance abuse and otherwise disorderly conduct by Bush from this time. Bush has admitted to drinking "too much" in those years and described this period of his life as his "nomadic" period of "irresponsible youth".Romano, Lois; George Lardner Jr. "Bush\'s Life-Changing Year", The Washington Post, 1999-07-25. Retrieved on 2006-06-27. On September 4, 1976, at the age of 30, Bush was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) near his family\'s summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine. He pled guilty, was fined US$150, and had his driver\'s license suspended in Maine until 1978.2000 Driving Record. Department of the Secretary of State of Maine (2000-11-02). Retrieved on 2006-08-09.Fallout From A Midnight Ride. Time Magazine (2000-11-13). Retrieved on 2006-09-08.
George and Laura Bush with their daughters Jenna and Barbara, 1990
After obtaining an MBA from Harvard University,GWB: HBS MBA. The American Thinker. www.americanthinker.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-16. Bush entered the oil industry in Texas. In 1977, he was introduced by friends to Laura Welch, a schoolteacher and librarian. They married and settled in Midland, Texas. Bush left his family\'s Episcopal Church to join his wife\'s United Methodist Church.
In 1978, Bush ran for the U.S. House of Representatives from the 19th Congressional District of Texas. His opponent Kent Hance portrayed Bush as being out of touch with rural Texans; Bush lost by 6,000 votes."Bush Wasn\'t Always a Front-Runner", Washington Post, 1999-10-17. Retrieved on 2007-04-07. Bush returned to the oil industry, becoming a senior partner or chief executive officer of several ventures, such as Arbusto Energy,Stone, Peter H. (2001-07-04). "Big oil\'s White House pipelines" (in English). National Journal (33). ISSN: 03604217. Spectrum 7, and, later, Harken Energy.Carlisle, John K. "George Soros\'s Plan to Defeat George Bush", Human Events, 2004-01-03. (English) These ventures suffered from the general decline of oil prices in the 1980s that had affected the industry and the regional economy. Additionally, questions of possible insider trading involving Harken have arisen, though the Securities and Exchange Commission\'s (SEC) investigation of Bush concluded that he did not have enough insider information before his stock sale to warrant a case."Files: Bush Knew Firm\'s Plight Before Stock Sale", Washington Post, 2002-07-21. Retrieved on 2007-01-02.
Bush moved with his family to Washington, D.C., in 1988, to work on his father\'s campaign for the U.S. presidency.Bush, George W.; Bill Adler (2004). The Quotable George W. Bush: A Portrait in His Own Words. Andrews McMeel Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7407-4154-8. Public Broadcasting System. "George W. Bush and the religious right in the 1988 campaign of George H.W. Bush", www.pbs.org, 2005-06-17. Retrieved on 2007-07-05. Returning to Texas after the campaign, Bush purchased a share in the Texas Rangers baseball franchise in April 1989, where he served as managing general partner for five years.Farrey, Tom (1999-11-01). A series of beneficial moves. ESPN. Retrieved on 2007-01-21. Bush actively led the team\'s projects and regularly attended its games, often choosing to sit in the open stands with fans.George W. Bush in Little League uniform. Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Retrieved on 2007-01-21. The sale of Bush\'s shares in the Rangers in 1998 brought him over US$15 million from his initial US$800,000 investment.Sale of baseball team. Make Them Accountable (2002-08-19). Retrieved on 2007-01-21.
Bush declared his candidacy for the 1994 Texas gubernatorial election as his brother, Jeb, sought the governorship of Florida. Winning the Republican primary easily, Bush faced incumbent Governor Ann Richards, a popular Democrat who was considered the favorite.
Bush was aided by several political advisers, including Karen Hughes, Joe Allbaugh, and Karl Rove. The Bush campaign was criticized for allegedly using controversial methods to disparage Richards.
Richards had vetoed a bill allowing Texans to obtain permits to carry concealed weapons. Bush pledged to sign it (and did so, after he won the election.)Salon News: Guns and Money. Following an impressive performance in the debates, Bush\'s popularity grew. He won with 52 percent against Richards\' 47 percent.Wayne Slater, James Moore (2003). Bush\'s Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential. Wiley, p.210. ISBN 978-0-471-42327-0.
As governor, Bush successfully sponsored legislation for tort reform, increased education funding, set higher standards for schools, and reformed the criminal justice system. Bush used a budget surplus to push through a $2 billion tax-cut plan, the largest in Texas history, which cemented Bush\'s credentials as a pro-business fiscal conservative.
Bush also pioneered faith-based welfare programs by extending government funding and support for religious organizations that provide social services such as education, alcohol and drug abuse prevention, and reduction of domestic violence. He proclaimed June 10 to be Jesus Day in Texas, a day where he "urge[d] all Texans to answer the call to serve those in need."Texas State (2005-03-11). Jesus Day (JPEG). Texas State Archives. PBS. Retrieved on 2006-06-30.
In 1998, Bush won re-election in a landslide victory with nearly 69 percent of the vote.Associated Press. "Texas Gov. George W. Bush wins in landslide", CNN, 1998-11-03. Retrieved on 2006-06-30. Within a year, he had decided to seek the Republican nomination for the presidency.
Bush\'s campaign was managed by Rove, Hughes and Allbaugh, as well as by other political associates from Texas. He was endorsed by a majority of Republicans in 38 state legislatures. After winning the Iowa caucus, Bush lost to U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona in the New Hampshire primary. Bush then picked up eleven of the next sixteen primaries, effectively clinching the Republican nomination.
In the televised Republican presidential debate held in Des Moines, Iowa on December 13 1999, all of the participating candidates were asked "What political philosopher or thinker do you most identify with and why?" Unlike most of the other candidates, who cited former presidents and other political figures, Bush responded, "Christ, because he changed my heart". Bush\'s appeal to religious values seems to have aided him in the general election. In a Gallup poll those who said they "attend church weekly" gave him 56% of their vote in 2000, and 63% of their vote in 2004."How Americans Voted" (Subscriber only), The Gallup Organization, 2004-11-05. Retrieved on 2006-06-30. [dead link] During the election cycle, Bush labeled himself a "compassionate conservative", and his political campaign promised to "restore honor and dignity to the White House," a reference to the scandals and impeachment of his predecessor.George W. Bush Speaks at Send-Off in Orlando (September 23 2000)."Ex-FBI Chief On Clinton\'s Scandals", CBS News, October 6, 2005.
On July 25 2000, Bush surprised some observers by asking Halliburton Corporation chief executive officer Dick Cheney, a former White House Chief of Staff, U.S. Representative and Secretary of Defense, to be his Vice Presidential running mate. Cheney was then serving as head of Bush\'s Vice-Presidential search committee.
While stressing his successful record as governor of Texas, Bush\'s campaign criticizedSack, Kevin; Toner, Robin (August 13 2000). The 2000 Campaign: The Record; In Congress, Gore Selected Issues Ready for Prime Time. The New York Times. Retrieved on July 20 2007. the Democratic nominee, incumbent Vice President Al Gore, over gun control and taxation.
Bush won the 2000 election in a controversial victory that saw the state of Florida appearing in exit polls to go to Gore, then to Bush. The closeness of the outcome, as well as reports of votes being miscounted, led to the Florida election recount. Two initial counts went to Bush, but that outcome was tied up in courts for a month until reaching the U.S. Supreme Court. On December 9, in the Bush v. Gore case, the Court reversed a Florida Supreme Court ruling ordering a third count, and stopped an ordered statewide hand recount based on the argument that the different standards that different counting procedures would have used violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The machine recount stated that Bush had won the Florida vote by a margin of 537 votes out of six million cast.2000 Official General Election Presidential Results. Federal Election Commission (December 2001). The famous episode pushed terms such as hanging chad into the popular lexicon.
Bush received 271 electoral votes to Gore\'s 266 as a result of the Florida outcome. However, he lost the popular vote by more than half a million votes2000 Presidential General Election Results making him the first president elected without at least a plurality of the popular vote since Benjamin Harrison in 1888."The Electoral College: How It Works" Grolier.com
George W. Bush speaks at a campaign rally in 2004.
Bush commanded broad support in the Republican Party and did not encounter a primary challenge. He appointed Kenneth Mehlman as campaign manager, with a political strategy devised by Rove.An Interview With Karl Rove. NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. PBS (2004-08-01). Retrieved on 2006-09-09. Bush outlined an agenda that included a strong commitment to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a renewal of the USA PATRIOT Act, making earlier tax cuts permanent, cutting the budget deficit in half, promoting education, as well as reform in tort law, reforming Social Security, and creation of an ownership society.
The Bush campaign advertised across the U.S. against Democratic candidates, including Bush\'s emerging opponent, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry. Kerry and other Democrats attacked Bush on the war in Iraq, perceived excesses of the USA PATRIOT Act and for allegedly failing to stimulate the economy and job growth. The Bush campaign portrayed Kerry as a staunch liberal who would raise taxes and increase the size of government. The Bush campaign continuously criticized Kerry\'s seemingly contradictory statements on the war in Iraq, and claimed Kerry lacked the decisiveness and vision necessary for success in the war on terrorism. Bush carried 31 of 50 states for a total of 286 Electoral College votes.
Bush won an outright majority of the popular vote, the first president to do so since his father in 1988.And now … four more years. Guardian Unlimited (2004-11-04). Retrieved on 2007-05-25. In addition, Bush\'s re-election occurring along with the Republican Party maintaining its majorities in both houses of Congress was the first time this instance occurred since Calvin Coolidge\'s election in 1924.
Facing opposition in the Congress, Bush held town hall-style public meetings across the U.S. in 2001 to increase public support for his plan for a US$1.35 trillion tax cut program — one of the largest tax cuts in U.S. history. Bush and his economic advisers argued that unspent government funds should be returned to taxpayers. With reports of the threat of recession from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, Bush argued that such a tax cut would stimulate the economy and create jobs.Wallace, Kelly. "$1.35 trillion tax cut becomes law", CNN InsidePolitics archives, 2001-06-07. Retrieved on 2006-06-30. Others, including the Treasury Secretary at the time Paul O\'Neill, were opposed to some of the tax cuts on the basis that they would contribute to budget deficits and undermine Social Security."CBS Interviews Former Treasury Secretary Paul O\'Neill]". Retrieved on 2007-07-25.
Under the Bush Administration, Real GDP has grown at an average annual rate of 2.5 percent,Gross Domestic Product. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Retrieved on 2007-07-25. considerably below the average for business cycles from 1949 to 2000.Price, L (2005-10-25). The Boom That Wasn’t: The economy has little to show for $860 billion in tax cuts.. Retrieved on 2007-11-10.Price, L., Ratner, D (2005-10-26). Economy pays price for Bush’s tax cuts.. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has grown by about 30 percent since January 2001.Historical Prices for Dow Jones Industrial Average. Yahoo! Finance. Unemployment rose from 4.2 percent in January 2001 to 6.3 percent in June 2003, dropping to 4.5 percent as of July 2007.Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey. United States Department of Labor. Retrieved on 2007-07-25. The on-budget deficit for 2006 was US$434 billion, a change from an US$86 billion surplus in 2000.Revenues, Outlays, Surpluses, Deficits, and Debt Held by the Public, 1962 to 2006. Congressional Budget Office. Archived from the original on 2007-06-28. Retrieved on 2007-07-25. Inflation-adjusted median household income has been flat while the nation\'s poverty rate has increased.Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2005. United States Census Bureau (2006). Retrieved on 2007-07-25. By August 23, 2007, the national debt had officially risen to US$8.98 trillion dollars; the national debt has increased US$3.25 trillion dollars since Bush took office."Spending and the national debt", The Washington Times, 2007-09-02. Retrieved on 2007-09-02.
While some argue that the Bush-era economy has mostly benefited the wealthy and not the majority of middle and lower-class citizens,Fighting back in the war on the middle classBush\'s Economy \'Doing Remarkably Well\' by Molly Ivins, AlterNet. October 24 2006.Tax Cuts Offer Most for Very Rich, Study Says. The New York Times (2007-01-08). Retrieved on 2007-01-14. and still others have claimed the exact opposite;Tax Cuts and the Rich by Alan Reynolds on Creators.com - A Syndicate Of Talent information available suggests that the standard of living has increased on all rungs of the socio-economic strata — with the bulk of income gains having gone to the top 1 percent,Yellen, J. L (2006-11-06). Speech to the Center for the Study of Democracy at the University of California, Irvine.. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Retrieved on 2007-06-20. whose share of income has increased substantially.Johnston, D (2007-03-29). Income Gap Is Widening, Data Shows.. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-06-20.
Another significant part of the Bush economic plan was the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005.
Bush signs the No Child Left Behind Act into law.
The No Child Left Behind Act aimed to measure and close the gap between rich and poor student performance, provide options to parents with students in low-performing schools, and target more federal funding to low-income schools. Critics argue that Bush has underfunded his own program, and Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy has claimed: "The tragedy is that these long-overdue reforms are finally in place, but the funds are not."W. James Antle III. "Leaving No Child Left Behind", The American Conservative, 2005-08-01. Retrieved on 2006-10-11. Many educational experts have criticized these reforms, contending that NCLBA\'s focus on "high stakes testing" and quantitative outcomes is counterproductive.Harvard Graduate School of Education. "No Child Left Behind?", HGSE News, 2002-06-01. Retrieved on 2006-10-11. Raising Standards or Raising Barriers? Edited by Gary Orfield and Mindy L. Kornhaber. The Century Foundation Press. May 1 2001. Bush increased funding for the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health in his first years of office, and created education programs to strengthen the grounding in science and mathematics for American high school students. However, funding for NIH failed to keep up with inflation in 2004 and 2005, and was actually cut in 2006, the first such cut in 36 years.Committee on Appropriations —Democratic Staff. "President Bush and House Republicans Undermine Life Saving Health Research", United States House of Representatives, 2006-09-12. Retrieved on 2006-10-11.
In 2007, Bush opposed and vetoed State Children\'s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) legislation which was tied by the Democrats onto a war funding bill and passed by Congress. The SCHIP legislation would have significantly expanded federally-funded health care benefits and plans to children of some low-income families from about 6 million to 10 million children. It was to be funded by an increase in the cigarette tax.Michael Abramowitz and Jonathan Weisman. "Bush Vetoes Health Measure", Washington Post, 2007-10-04. Retrieved on 2007-10-09. Bush viewed the legislation as a move toward the liberal platform of socialized health care, and claimed that the program could benefit families making as much as US$83,000 per year who would not have otherwise needed the help."Bush Vetoes Child Health Bill Privately", The New York Times, 2007-10-04. Retrieved on 2007-11-01.
Bush promoted increased deregulation and investment options in social services, leading Republican efforts to pass the Medicare Act of 2003, which added prescription drug coverage to Medicare and created Health Savings Accounts, which would permit people to set aside a portion of their Medicare tax to build a "nest egg". The retired persons lobby group AARP worked with the Bush Administration on the program and gave their endorsement. Bush said the law, estimated to cost US$400 billion over the first 10 years, would give the elderly "better choices and more control over their health care"."President Signs Medicare Legislation", The White House, 2003-12-08. Retrieved on 2006-06-30.
Bush began his second term by outlining a major initiative to reform Social Security, which was facing record deficit projections beginning in 2005. Bush made it the centerpiece of his agenda despite contrary beliefs in the media and in the U.S. Congress, which saw the program as the "third rail of politics," with the American public being suspicious of any attempt to change it. It was also widely believed to be the province of the Democratic Party, with Republicans in the past having been accused of efforts to dismantle or privatize it. In his 2005 State of the Union Address, Bush discussed the allegedly impending bankruptcy of the program and attacked political inertia against reform. He proposed options to permit Americans to divert a portion of their Social Security tax (FICA) into secured investments, creating a "nest egg" that he claimed would enjoy steady growth. Despite emphasizing safeguards and remaining open to other plans, Bush\'s proposal was criticized for its high cost, and Democrats attacked it as an effort to partially privatize the system, and for leaving Americans open to the whims of the market. Bush embarked on a 60-day national tour, campaigning vigorously for his initiative in media events ("Conversations on Social Security") in a largely unsuccessful attempt to gain support from the general public.Jim VandeHei and Peter Baker (2005-02-12). Social Security: On With the Show. The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2006-09-09. Despite energetic campaign by Bush to promote his Social Security reform plan, by May 2005 the public support for the Bush proposal declined substantiallyBush shifts approach on Social Security reform. Financial Times (2005-04-28). Retrieved on 2007-09-09. and the House GOP leadership decided not to put Social Security reform on the priority list for the remainder of their 2005 legislative agenda.Social Security in Limbo, The Hill, June 1, 2005. Truthout.org The proposal\'s legislative prospects were further diminished by the political fallout from the Hurricane Katrina in the fall of 2005.Hurricane impact — Hurricane dims Bush\'s hopes on Social Security. Financial Times. Retrieved on September 9, 2007. In the run-up to the 2006 congressional elections, the Republican leadership in Congress put the hot-button issue of the Social Security reform on the back burner. No substantive legislative action was taken on this issue in 2006. After the Democrats took over control of both houses of Congress as a result of the 2006 mid-term elections, the prospects of any further congressional action on the Bush proposal appeared to be dead for the remainder of his term in office.
Upon arriving in office in 2001, Bush did not support the Kyoto Protocol, an amendment to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change which seeks to impose mandatory targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Bush partially based this decision on the fact that the Senate had voted 95–0 in 1997 on a resolution expressing its disapproval of the protocol. Bush asserted he would not support it because the treaty exempted 80 percent of the world\'s populationText of a Letter from the President to Senators Hagel, Helms, Craig, and Roberts, Office of the Press Secretary, March 13, 2001 and would have cost the economy tens of billions of dollars per year,Summary of the Kyoto Report—Assessment of Economic Impacts, Energy Information Administration, page last modified July 16 2002. and was based on the uncertain science of climate change."George W. Bush: The Un-science Guy", AlterNet, 2001-06-19. Retrieved on 2006-11-05. The Bush Administration\'s stance on global warming has remained controversial in the scientific and environmental communities during his presidency.
In 2002, Bush announced the Clear Skies Initiative,Executive Summary—The Clear Skies Initiative. The White House (2002-02-14). Retrieved on 2007-02-02. aimed at amending the Clean Air Act to reduce air pollution through the use of emissions trading programs. Critics contended that it would have weakened the original legislation by allowing higher levels of pollutants than were permitted at that time.Clear Skies Proposal Weakens the Clean Air Act. Sierra Club. Retrieved on 2007-02-04. The initiative was introduced to Congress, but failed to make it out of committee.
In 2004, the Director of NASA\'s Goddard Institute, James Hansen, publicly and harshly accused the Administration of misinforming the public by suppressing the scientific evidence of the dangers of greenhouse gases, saying the Bush Administration wanted to hear only scientific results that “fit predetermined, inflexible positions” and edited reports to make the dangers sound less threatening in what he asserted was "direct opposition to the most fundamental precepts of science."NASA Scientist Rips Bush on Global Warming. MSNBC (2004-10-27). Retrieved on 2007-01-22.60 Minutes: Rewriting the Science. CBS News (2006-03-19). Retrieved on 2007-01-22. Other experts, such as former United States Department of Energy official Joseph Romm, have decried the Bush administration as a "denier and delayer" of government action essential to reduce carbon emissions and deter
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