Press Release
Posted:
Washington, DC –Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-05) released this statement following the President’s State of the Union address:
“Tonight we saw the President continue to push forward an agenda that the majority of Americans do not support.
The President again called for the construction of a wall on our southern border, a proposition that we know is expensive and ineffective. Worse, the President continues to hold DACA recipients hostage to get this funding after promising them a permanent solution. It’s cruel and it only serves to fulfil a ridiculous campaign promise.
He touted the package of massive tax cuts for the very rich and corporate interests that Republicans jammed through Congress. With 83 percent of these cuts going to the top 1 percent of rich Americans and corporations, middle class families will see little benefits, with 9 million families actually seeing a tax increase next year. Worse, Republicans added $2.3 trillion to our national debt to pay for these cuts. That’s money our kids and grandkids are going to have to pay back.
The President highlighted the need to address our crippling infrastructure. Republicans and Democrats agree that our infrastructure needs to be addressed. This should have been the first issue that Congress tackled last year. But instead, Republicans chose to try to repeal the Affordable Care Act three separate times and pushed through the package of tax cuts for the rich. The reality is that after Republicans added $2.3 trillion to the national debt to pay for these tax cuts, it’s going to be more difficult than ever to pay for a major overhaul of our country’s infrastructure.
I was also concerned by what we didn’t hear from the President tonight: Nothing about helping prevent gun violence which claims 30 American lives every day. Nothing about battling climate change after the two hottest years on record. Nothing about long-term solutions that would strengthen our health care system as costs continue to rise, and millions still struggle to access care. And nothing about taking action on the $81 billion disaster relief package the House passed for fire and hurricane survivors that is currently collecting dust in the Senate.
I’ll continue to work with my colleagues in the House to move forward in areas where we can find bipartisan solutions, and fight against any proposals that are not in our national interest.”