President Obama Delivers 6th State Of The Union Address

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama has used his first State of the Union Address to a GOP-controlled Congress to say that the nation’s economy is emerging from the “shadow of crisis.”

The president listed positive economic indicators including higher employment and a lower national debt. After finishing the rundown, he joked “This is good news, people.” Obama also pushed proposals he said will benefit the middle class including lowering the cost of child care and junior college.

While saying there are areas of agreement where cooperation is possible with Republicans, he also warned that he’ll veto any efforts to roll back the Affordable Health Care Act and regulations that reigned in Wall Street after the economic collapse.

He’ll undoubtedly run into staunch opposition with a tax plan that would also require estates to pay capital gains taxes on securities at the time they’re inherited and slap a fee on the roughly 100 U.S. financial firms with assets of more than $50 billion.

On foreign policy issues, Obama defended his decision to return to military action in Iraq and also authorize airstrikes in Syria. He called on Congress to pass a new resolution formally authorizing the use of force against the Islamic State group.

Republicans offered their strongest applause when Obama said he had no more campaigns to run. As Republicans erupted in laughter, Obama jokingly shot back, “I know, because I won both of them.”

***Press Release***

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.) issued the following statement this evening in response to the president’s State of the Union Address:

“I am disappointed that President Obama’s vision for America appeared to be aimed at driving the debate in the 2016 election on income inequality and class-warfare, rather than setting a realistic agenda for Congress. This is President Obama’s same old top-down approach we’ve come to expect that hasn’t worked. Raising taxes on people that are successful is not going to make people that are struggling more successful.”

“I believe every child should have an equal opportunity for a great education, which is why we must encourage high-tech educational opportunities and give parents the right to send their kids to schools of their choice. In Mississippi, our community college system is one of the best, if not the best in the country, and very affordable. Keeping it affordable, not free, should be our objective. President Obama’s proposal for two years of “free community college” only nationalizes our education system and tells students Washington, DC knows best while making community college more bureaucratic and costly.”

“Finally, our energy policy should encourage investment, lower fuel prices, and create jobs here at home. America has an abundance of natural resources, and through innovation we can continue to put people back to work, reduce energy costs, and make America energy independent while looking out for our environment at the same time. President Obama’s commitment to veto the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline Project will prevent more than 40,000 American jobs from being created right here at home. I am disappointed that the President took credit for lower gas prices at the pump when it’s been his policies that have caused lower and middle class American to suffer economically these past six years. American energy innovation in the private sector is responsible for the lower prices.”

***Press Release***

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, today issued the following statement regarding President Obama’s State of the Union Address:

“The President has shared his priorities, but now it is time for him to work with the new Congress on solutions to the challenges facing our nation at home and abroad. An improving national economy is good news, but it is not the result of the executive orders, new regulations or government mandates dispensed by the Obama administration over the past six years of slow growth. I am ready to work with my colleagues and the administration to protect our national security interests and improve economic opportunities for families in Mississippi and around the country.”

***Press Release***

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., issued the following statement regarding President Obama’s second-to-last State of the Union address:

“The State of the Union address tonight was disappointing. The President had an opportunity to outline ways in which he could join forces with the new Republican majority in Congress. The voters have given us this divided government and given us an opportunity to work together. Instead, the President delivered more of the same types of themes from years past – bigger government, higher taxes, and more spending. I think he is bound to realize that those are nonstarters with this new Republican majority.

“The President has only two years left in office. Rather than catering to the special interests of the far left, I was hoping the President would choose to use these next two years to work with Republicans to strengthen our economy, to create jobs for Americans.

“Americans made it clear in November that they are tired of business as usual in Washington. We have divided government; clearly it is going to take both political parties to produce results and to produce a lasting recovery. I would challenge anyone who says we are in a very real recovery, because I think it is weak. Job creation is weak, labor participation rate is very, very low, and job increases are barely keeping up with inflation. So, we need a real recovery.

“During times of divided government, we have been able to accomplish real things. Ronald Reagan did it after he lost the majority in the Senate in 1986, and Bill Clinton used divided government to do welfare reform after 1994. They chose to work with Congress to pass meaningful reforms in a bipartisan way.

“This newly elected Republican majority is listening to Americans. We are listening to the election results from November. Our focus is on solutions that increase economic activity, create good-paying jobs, boost wages for people who are already working, lower the cost of health care, and lower the cost of energy. I urge the President to work with us – not against us – so we can get this country moving in the right direction.”