Washington, DC – Michael Bennet, U.S. Senator for Colorado, released the following statement after President Barack Obama delivered his annual State of the Union address before a Joint Session of Congress:
“Tonight, after a difficult year for our country, the President spoke directly to the American people about the serious challenges we face, and the serious work we need to do to address them.
“Our number one priority right now needs to be jobs, and I’m pleased President Obama made that the central focus of tonight’s remarks. We need to do more to create jobs, to provide tax relief for small businesses, and to restore economic security and stability for middle class families.
“Part of that security will come from strong, sensible reforms that hold Wall Street bankers accountable for their own bad decisions. But it will also come from improving and reforming our public schools and lowering the crushing cost of health care for working families.
“As the father of three little girls and the former superintendent of schools, I appreciated the President’s focus on improving our schools and providing the funds necessary to get public education back on track. I’m eager to work with the White House and with school districts across Colorado – our parents and our teachers – to help turn our schools around and prepare our kids for the new economy.
“I was pleased to hear the President address the deficits and debts that threaten to constrain our kids’ choices. Saddling our children with a debilitating debt is simply immoral, and President Obama was right to hold Washington accountable for its spending habits.
“The challenges we face are serious, and they won’t be addressed unless we fix the way Washington does business – unless we put aside partisan bickering, dismiss the special interests and put problem solving and the American people first. After a lost decade of declining wages and eroding security for the middle class, the last thing working families can afford is more of the same – and it’s going to require all of us, working together, to get results.”