Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) released the following statement today following President Biden’s State of the Union address:
“When President Biden was inaugurated last year, he inherited a sluggish economy and a deadly pandemic. Since then, our Nation has made great progress and as President Biden said tonight, the state of our union is strong. After two long years, we are finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel of the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to President Biden’s leadership getting shots into arms, reopening schools and getting people back to work. The American Rescue Plan helped jumpstart our economy, put cash in people’s pockets and lifted millions of children out of poverty. Since President Biden took office, our economy has created an earth-shattering 7.1 million jobs. Congress then worked with President Biden to make a once-in-a-generation investment in rebuilding our Nation’s infrastructure, improving transportation across the country and expanding access to broadband and clean drinking water. These investments will spur economic growth in small towns across the Nation, and rural and urban areas alike.
“President Biden has also addressed the situation in Ukraine with solemn responsibility and the serious response it merits. He has already shown the world that the United States stands up for democracy and will continue to work with global leaders to address Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. He has rebuilt trust with allies who had grown wary of the U.S. commitment to global peace and prosperity. In part, because of that, the international community has responded to Putin’s aggression with extraordinary unity.
“As our Nation recovers, President Biden and Democrats will continue to lower costs for families and build on our strong economic recovery. We can lower the costs of goods by making more here in America and shoring up our supply chains so they reach American families faster. We can get Americans back to work by making child care more affordable and enabling seniors and people with disabilities to receive care in their own homes and remain active members of their communities. At the same time, we must raise the wages of the caregivers who provide essential care so they can support their own families. President Biden also made a strong commitment to strengthen nursing home accountability and transparency. I will continue to work with the Administration to fight for improvements in quality and safety for nursing home residents and workers across the country. The work to make our Nation more prosperous and just for all Americans is never truly over, but tonight President Biden laid out a strong and optimistic vision on how we build on the progress we’ve made. I look forward to working with him to make this vision a reality.”
