Durbin Statement On President Biden’s State Of The Union Address
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement on President Biden’s State of the Union Address:
“Thanks to President Biden and Congressional Democrats, we have made tremendous progress over the past two years. In February 2021, we were in the throes of a global pandemic and reckoning with a deadly insurrection in the Capitol that had taken place just one month earlier. Two years later, we have seen record-breaking job creation, new roads and bridges being built, the uninsured rate at historic lows, and we are finally confronting the climate crisis—all while lowering the deficit by $1.7 trillion.
“In the next two years, I look forward to continuing to work with the President to deliver on his ‘Unity Agenda,’ as well as supporting Ukraine as it defends its sovereignty against Putin’s unjust and unprovoked invasion. These are bipartisan issues we can all agree on.
“The President also called on Congress to reduce child poverty through the expanded Child Tax Credit; extend the $35 per month insulin cap to all Americans; and combat gun violence and take action on police reform in order to make our communities safer. I urge my Republican colleagues to join us in these efforts.
“Now, as President Biden said, ‘we need to finish the job.’ Let’s continue to deliver for the American people as we did in the last two years.”
Durbin’s guest for tonight’s State of the Union Address was Chris Manson. Chris, who is Vice President of Government Relations for OSF HealthCare in Peoria, Illinois, and founder of U.S. Ambulances for Ukraine, has helped deliver 28 ambulances and one fire engine to Ukraine and works with volunteers across Illinois to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of medical supplies, clothing, and nonperishable food for the Ukrainian people amid Putin’s illegal war.
President Biden’s four-part “Unity Agenda” focuses on areas where members of both parties can come together and make additional progress for the American people: ending cancer as we know it; delivering on the sacred obligation to veterans; tackling the mental health crisis; and beating the opioid and overdose epidemic.
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