Carper Applauds Biden’s First State of the Union Address

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) today released the following statement in response to President Biden’s first State of the Union address:

“In times of crisis, true leaders rise to the moment and lead with courage. In his State of the Union address tonight, President Biden demonstrated that kind of profound leadership—and underscored just how far we have come as a result. 

“On President Biden’s inauguration day, we had administered about 20 million shots in arms protecting against COVID-19—since then, we’ve administered over 550 million life-saving vaccines. When President Biden took office, we were grappling with the worst recession since the Great Depression—now, his first year was the greatest year of job creation in American history, with over 6.6 million jobs added to our economy. One year ago, we had retreated from the world stage and our relationships with allies and partners were strained—now, the United States is working side-by-side with our allies, unified to support the people of Ukraine and hold Putin accountable for his atrocities. And for years, previous Administrations failed to address our crumbling infrastructure—but now, the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is delivering clean drinking water, good-paying jobs, safer roads, highways, and bridges, all while connecting communities across our nation.

“As the President underscored tonight, while we’ve come a long way since last year, we still have a ways to go. American families across our country are feeling the squeeze of higher costs as a result of the ongoing pandemic. In response, the President laid out a thoughtful plan tonight that will help lower everyday costs for Americans by strengthening our supply chains and reducing out-of-pocket costs for middle class families—including for prescription drugs and child care. 

“And while the world feels the scorch of an impending climate crisis, the President made clear tonight that only bold action can help to save our planet while creating clean energy jobs and fostering economic growth for years to come.

“There are a great deal of challenges facing our nation. But when we look at how far we’ve come in the past year, I’m confident that no one is better suited to lead us as we meet this historic moment—no one is better suited to build a better America—than President Biden. In the meantime, I’m ready to get to work with his Administration and Republicans and Democrats in Congress to help us get there.”

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