Politics & Government

NOVA Rep. Gerry Connolly Backs State of the Union Speech

Said Obama has striven "valiantly"

Last night, President Barack Obama gave his third State of the Union speech from the U.S. Capitol. The following is a statement made by U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11):

President Obama has striven valiantly to turn our economy around against very steep odds and he’s had a lot of success to show for it.  We’ve created 3.2 million new jobs under his watch with 22 straight months of job growth and more than $2 trillion in deficit reduction.

Tonight, he made a commitment to the American people that he will continue to push to grow our economy to ensure that all Americans, today and in the future, will be able to share the American dream.

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President Obama has received no help and no credit from the other side, who continue to put politics ahead of policy.  His hand has been bitten repeatedly by those who proclaim their most important goal is his defeat, yet still he reaches out, in the spirit of bipartisanship, for the good of our nation and all of us who are proud to be Americans.

I was proud to hear our President call for Congress to put aside partisan bickering for the sake of our country, to make sure everyone plays by the same rules and to strive to reclaim American values.  I was heartened to hear President Obama say he will work with all in Congress, even those who vow to defeat him, but he will fight vigorously against partisan obstructionism and any effort to return to the failed policies that upended our economy in 2008.

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I support President Obama’s plan to expand the educational opportunities for Americans to learn the skills needed to thrive it our vibrant technology industries.  I applaud his proposals to nurture and increase the manufacturing sector to make the products of the future export those products across the globe.  And I embrace his call to expand clean energy sources while making sure our nation has the energy resources it needs to move forward.

We are fortunate to have a President who understands the economic challenges we face, who knows what needs to be done to turn our economy around, and has provided Congress and the nation with a blueprint to return prosperity to all Americans.


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