Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D) released the following Statement regarding President Joe Biden’s 2023 State of the Union Address: The Statement was released last night following the President’s speech. However, this blogger did not post the Statement until this morning.
“President Biden spoke clearly about the immense economic progress we’ve made on his watch. No other President has seen two years of strong job growth like Joe Biden. Our national deficit has been cut by a record $1.7 trillion. A whopping 519,000 jobs were created just last month. We have the lowest unemployment rate since 1969. And 100,000 new clean energy sector jobs have already been created since the Inflation Reduction Act was enacted. Although these numbers speak for themselves, last night Joe Biden connected these impressive metrics to stories of real people who have benefited from his visionary policies.
“The President directly confronted House Republicans’ reckless economic proposal to gut Social Security and Medicare and impose a 30% national sales tax on Americans. The GOP’s plan would steal benefits older Mainers have earned and sap the life savings of retirees. House Republicans know their debt ceiling thetoric rings hollow. As the President said, raising the debt ceiling is a routine, bipartisan obligation to cover previous spending. It does not accrue new debt. That’s why they voted to raise the debt ceiling three times under President Trump. I am grateful President Biden set the record straight last night.
“In this time of income inequality, I was heartened to hear President Biden’s plans to hold big corporations accountable for making excessive profits while taking advantage of consumers and our tax code. From cutting credit card late fees to quadrapling the tax on corporate buy backs. President Biden’s proposal to rein in greed will make a major difference in the lives of wokring families and ensure corporations pay their fair share.”
“Last night, President Biden outlined what we have already achieved under his leadership. But there is so much more work to do to restore reproductive freedom, reduce gun violence, bring down the cost of prescription drugs, support our veterans, fight climate change and keep our democracy alive. I look forward to working with our President and my Congressional colleagues to addess these challenges and improve the lives of our constituents.”