With a refrain of “let’s finish the job” cited numerous times in his speech, President Joe Biden called for unity during the State of the Union address on Tuesday night. Locally, Door County Democratic Chair Kris Sadur says the one part of the speech that stood out was when President Biden asked everyone to stand up for senior citizens and prevent any cuts to Social Security and Medicare.
Sadur says the president also did well covering the issues facing working people, like the job market, our veterans, the environment, and education impacting working people and getting them the needed benefits and resources. Wisconsin 8th District Congressman Mike Gallagher released a statement Wednesday morning, criticizing President Biden’s address for not backing down from his “policy failures .”The complete statement by Rep. Gallagher is below.
“During the past two years, President Biden interpreted a narrow Congressional majority as a mandate for radical change. The American people responded by electing a divided government to put a check on the excesses of the Biden administration and work together to address the challenges we face. If last night's speech was any indication, the President has not learned his lesson.
“The President’s speech doubled down on the same policies that added trillions of dollars to our national debt, helped fuel 40-year high inflation, and dramatically increased the cost of living for all Americans. It failed to offer any solution on the border crisis fueled by the President’s policies, and it lacked any accountability for the President’s foreign policy failures that have reduced our standing on the world stage and made the country less safe.
“Right now, America faces two existential threats: a debt crisis and a hostile foreign adversary in the Chinese Communist Party that threatens our very way of life. We must address these challenges in bipartisan fashion, and Republicans stand ready to do so if the President has the humility to admit his failures, stop demagoguing Republicans, and find compromise and common ground in good faith.”
U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin also released a statement on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) released the following statement after President Joe Biden delivered his State of the Union address to Congress:
“In the last two years, I worked hard with President Biden to lower costs for working families, boost our Made in Wisconsin economy, and create good paying jobs in all corners of our state. I am thrilled that he recognized that work tonight,” said Senator Baldwin. “By working with Democrats and Republicans, we’ve invested in rebuilding America’s roads, bridges and water infrastructure, using American products and American workers. And we made progress to lower the cost of prescription drugs because no one should go broke to get the care they need to stay healthy. I am proud to have delivered for Wisconsin’s families, farmers and businesses, and I look forward to continuing to work with President Biden to invest in our Made in Wisconsin economy and workforce and expand access to affordable health care for all Americans.”
President Biden highlighted several key priorities Senator Baldwin has long worked hard for during his speech, including:
Investing in Made in America Economy – President Biden announced he would follow through on a provision that Senator Baldwin included in the infrastructure law requiring construction materials used in federally-funded infrastructure projects to be made in the US. This provision was originally included in Senator Baldwin’s bipartisan Made in America Act to strengthen Buy America requirements for the federal government in order to support American businesses, manufacturers, and workers.
President Biden also highlighted a robust and growing Made in America economy, including $700 billion in announced private investment in manufacturing, utilities, and energy from more than 200 companies in all 50 states driven by the semiconductor, energy, electric vehicles and batteries, and other cutting-edge sectors thanks to Baldwin-supported legislation like the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). President Biden also highlighted how these Baldwin-supported victories
Lowering the Costs of Health Care and Prescription Drugs – President Biden called for capping the cost of insulin for all Americans. Senator Baldwin supports and is working to pass legislation to cap out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 per month for private group or individual plans. This builds on Senator Baldwin’s support for the IRA which capped the cost of insulin for seniors on Medicare at $35 per month and made vaccines such as the shingles vaccine available with no co-pay or out-of-pocket cost. Thanks to the new law, Medicare will also be able to negotiate drug prices and cap out-of-pocket costs at $2,000 per year under Part D, and drug companies will pay rebates to Medicare if they try to hike their prices faster than the rate of inflation. The IRA also extended premium tax credits for plans purchased on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace, helping a record-setting 16.3 million people sign up for ACA coverage this year, and reducing the national uninsured rate to an all-time low last year.
My statement on tonight’s State of the Union address: pic.twitter.com/dMWs95b2QL
— Sen. Tammy Baldwin (@SenatorBaldwin) February 8, 2023
U.S. Senator Ron Johnson's statement on the State of the Union address.
“Tonight, President Biden said he ran ‘to fundamentally change things’ and he has done so – for the worse. The disastrous results of his governance describe the actual state of our union – a more divided nation, 40-year-high inflation, an open border with a flood of illegal immigration and deadly drugs, high energy prices, rising crime, record debt and growing threats from global adversaries. Our nation is in peril.”
(photo courtesy of Wikimedia)
