Baldwin Issues Statement on President's State of the Union Address

HEADLINE: REP. BALDWIN ISSUES STATEMENT ON PRESIDENT'S STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

BYLINE: States News Service

DATELINE: WASHINGTON

BODY:

The office of Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., issued the following statement:

Statement of Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin on the State of the Union Address The President has one opportunity each year to address America's most pressing challenges. My constituents have made it clear to me that the greatest challenges they confront are the skyrocketing costs of health care and the state of our economy including the loss of jobs and the erosion of worker benefits. With respect to these challenges, the President offered no broad, new initiatives and no bold plans. His health care proposals do little to expand access to affordable health care; nor did the President address the problem of American corporations exporting good-paying jobs overseas. The President devoted only two sentences to the challenge faced by the nearly three million American workers who have lost their jobs since he assumed the presidency. Worker retraining will serve little purpose if there are no jobs available. If the President is really interested in protecting families, then he must protect the American worker and not just corporate profits.

While the President dedicated more than half of his speech to the war in Iraq and the fight against terrorism, I was struck by the fact that he made no mention of Osama bin Laden which indicates to me that we have lost our focus on the greatest threat to this country's safety and security.

Contact: Jerilyn Goodman, 608/258-9800, jerilyn.goodman@mail.house.gov