Congresswoman Lee Responds to President Obama’s Fifth State of the Union Address
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 28, 2014
Contact: Carrie Adams (202) 225-2661
Washington, D.C.— Today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee released the following statement in reaction to President Obama’s State of the Union Address to Congress:
“In tonight’s State of the Union address, President Obama laid out a compelling path forward for our nation, in what he called a, “year of action.” In my view, that is precisely what we need: the State of our union is fragile for many and must be strong for all.
“And even this morning, the President proved that to be true with his executive order to raise the minimum wage for federally contracted workers. Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and I have been urging the President to do this, and I’m proud to have rallied with low-wage workers on several occasions. On this issue, I am encouraged by this move to lift people out of poverty, though there is still work to be done.
“The President spoke on several issues of national importance tonight in his State of the Union, especially income inequality and economic opportunity. President Obama recently called this, ‘the defining issue of our time,’ and as Chair of the Whip’s Task Force on Poverty, Opportunity and Income Inequality, I am pleased that this was a central theme in his address. I am also pleased the President reiterated his pledge to end the war in Afghanistan. We must bring all our troops home and repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF).
“Because of the obstructionist Tea Party Republicans in this Congress, we have made little progress on this and many other issues, like creating jobs, reforming our broken immigration system, combating climate change, ending gun violence, and advancing equal pay. I’m pleased the President committed to using his executive powers to help reignite the American dream.”
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Follow Barbara Lee on Facebook and Twitter at @RepBarbaraLee. To learn more, visit lee.house.gov.
Congresswoman Lee is a member of the Appropriations and Budget Committees the Steering and Policy Committee, is a Senior Democratic Whip as well as the Whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus(CPC), where she serves as the Co-Chair of the CPC Peace and Security Task Force.