WASHINGTON, D.C. – In his first State of the Union address tonight, President Barack Obama discussed his administration’s efforts to rescue the economy and laid out a strong framework for rebuilding America’s middle class. President Obama also called on Congress to pass key pieces of legislation under the House Education and Labor Committee’s jurisdiction, including the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and comprehensive health insurance reform. U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement on the President’s remarks:
“The Obama administration inherited not only the worst financial crisis in a generation, but a middle class severely weakened by eight years of failed trickle-down economic policies. Economists across the board agree the administration’s early efforts saved our economy from catastrophe. But, as the President pointed out tonight, middle class families are still reeling from a “lost decade” of declining wages, benefits and retirement savings.
“Tonight President Obama made clear he will continue to put the needs of middle class families and taxpayers first. He has put forth solid proposals to help borrowers struggling with high monthly student loan bills and families grappling with child care expenses. He is focused on helping rebuild Americans’ retirement security by expanding access to retirement accounts, providing tax credits, and improving transparency on all fees taken out of workers’ savings.
“He redoubled his commitment to continue saving and creating jobs by calling on Congress to invest in small businesses, in green jobs, and in our roads, bridges, and other infrastructure. The House has already passed a second jobs bill and we will continue to look for every possible way we can put Americans back to work quickly.
“The President was also right to renew his call for Congress to pass health insurance reform. Opinion polls don’t measure the workers who continue to lose their jobs and their health insurance, the small businesses getting crushed by health care costs, or the people getting denied the treatment they need because of a pre-existing condition. The economic case for fixing our broken health insurance system remains just as strong as the moral one: Studies show reforms will create up to four million jobs over the next decade. We will continue to fight for reforms that will create new jobs in health fields and make consumers the central focus of our health insurance system – not insurance companies.
“As we focus on creating jobs, we also have to focus on preparing our current and future workers for those jobs. We won’t be able to sustain a long-term economic recovery if we don’t have a world-class education system to match it. From their first years of life through college, our students must learn the knowledge and skills needed to compete in our global economy. President Obama’s historic budget commitment to investing in our children at every age shows he’s serious about regaining the highest proportion of college graduates by 2020.
“I am especially pleased that President Obama called on Congress to rewrite our nation’s federal education laws. The key to getting this done will be bipartisanship. I plan to begin working on this immediately with this administration, Congressman Kline, our colleagues on the House Education and Labor Committee and all parties that have ideas about how to improve our schools.
“Throughout his speech, President Obama talked about changing the way Washington works. One way we can do just that is by enacting legislation already passed by the House that would invest billions of dollars to help families pay for college – at no cost to taxpayers – by eliminating taxpayer subsidies for student loan middle men. Ending these subsidies will save $87 billion that we can invest directly in our college students and in improving early education and community colleges. It’s a much better use of taxpayer dollars.
“For the last three years, House Democrats have been fighting on behalf of middle class families. I hope all lawmakers realize that this mission is more important than politics and join us in working to rebuild our economy and address the needs of our children, students, workers and taxpayers.”
# # #
