Kildee Statement on State of the Union

Praises Obama for commitment to education, job creation and affordable health care

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Dale E. Kildee (D-MI) released the following statement in response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address:

“This evening, the President laid out his plan to continue the fight to rebuild our economy, improve education for our children, and provide Americans with quality, affordable health care. He will put the needs of families first, protecting Americans from Wall Street greed and ending the days of “too big to fail.”

The President made it very clear that job creation is his number one priority, and I could not agree with him more. The current economic downturn has hit our manufacturing communities hard, particularly in my home state of Michigan, causing too many hardworking Americans to lose their jobs through no fault of their own. I look forward to working with the President to put Americans back to work by fostering development of the green energy sector, investing in our transportation infrastructure, and working to increase exports of domestic products.

Building on his commitment to improve our long-term economic strength, the President rightly noted the connection between education and economic opportunity. The President is proposing up to an additional $4 billion in federal education funding for our students, an increase of 6.2 percent. This includes the largest single-year request for primary and secondary education funding in history, and a $1.35 billion increase in ‘Race to the Top’ competitive grants - a clear commitment to our nation’s children. As a former teacher, I believe the best way to prepare our youth for professional success and strengthen our workforce is to provide every child with a quality education and I applaud the President for his commitment.

He also reiterated the importance of the continued fight for health reform in our country, as the need remains painfully clear. Families across the country are seeing their premiums skyrocket, more and more people are going without, and others cannot get coverage due to pre-existing conditions. Our commitment to meaningful health reform remains as strong as ever and I will continue to fight to provide affordable health coverage for American families in Michigan and throughout the country.

As we move forward with these important initiatives for our country, the President has pledged to do so in a fiscally responsible way. I join the President in his commitment to the American people and I look forward to working with him on these important initiatives for our country.”