Golden Statement Ahead of State of the Union

Statement

Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) released the following statement in advance of President Joe Biden's first State of the Union address.

"Tonight, I'll be watching for the president to address a number of important priorities.

"To start, I would like to hear a greater commitment to the working class with a focus on the challenges they face today. That need is no more apparent than in the rising inflation hitting people at the grocery stores and at the gas pumps, but it's also at the heart of challenges for specific industries in my district, like lobstermen, who are facing their biggest threat in decades due to misguided and ineffective federal regulations from an administration that promised to have their backs. The Trump Administration failed to stop these regulations, but that is no excuse for the failure of this administration to act to protect the livelihoods of Maine's fishing communities.

"With the rapidly developing international conflict in Ukraine, Americans are counting on the president to work with American companies to boost domestic production to protect our citizens from higher gas and oil prices related to sanctions against Russia in support of Ukraine. This current crisis demonstrates that, for the good of our long-term national security, we must prioritize American energy independence.

"The president should also join in actions to clean up Washington and restore faith in our democratic institutions. One way he can do this is by publicly backing a ban on trading individual stocks by members of Congress and members of the executive branch. Earlier reports suggested that the president was considering announcing his support of such a ban in tonight's speech -- we need to see him follow through.

"The president should offer a more decisive response to the increase in crime and illicit drug trafficking that we have seen in our country. Communities are leaning more and more on understaffed and underpaid law enforcement departments across America, combined with a lack of resources to assist those who are struggling with substance abuse and addiction. The president should lean into this problem and publicly back bipartisan efforts in Congress, like boosting funding for COPS grants and increasing mental health resources to address substance abuse, with a focus on underserved and rural communities.

"I believe that the president should use his remarks tonight to more publicly reckon with the devastating withdrawal from Afghanistan. I would encourage him to speak frankly with the American people about how he will deal with the consequences of this failure of execution, in particular the safety of American citizens still in the country and the tens of thousands of Afghan partners who have been left behind. The president would do well to commit his administration to dramatically increasing the State Department's capacity to support American citizens abroad and for processing visa applications for our Afghan allies.

"The president ran on a message of restoring faith in the government and in our country's political system, pledging to bring the country together and work with lawmakers to advance a bipartisan agenda. From choosing a partisan path for COVID relief right out of the gate to losing time and political capital tying a ready-to-pass bipartisan infrastructure bill to a partisan reconciliation bill that lacked the necessary support in the Senate, it's clear he strayed from a bipartisan approach for much of the past year. I hope tonight we hear a recommitment to working together with anyone willing to join him to meet the most pressing needs of the country.

"I also hope that tonight we will see the president acknowledge and take stock of the leadership he has shown and the progress he has led over the past year.

"President Biden helped spearhead a massive and successful campaign to vaccinate -- for free -- hundreds of millions of Americans. That is no small feat, and it has helped set the stage for the country to transition from its emergency response to the pandemic to living with an endemic COVID virus that can be managed. Going forward, the country remains in need of leadership as it seeks to make that transition without losing the capacity to address any future variant or surge.

"The president's decision to pull troops out of Afghanistan was a brave one made on principle that reflected the will of the American people to end the war and bring our troops home, even though the execution of that withdrawal was mismanaged with tragic consequences. Several presidents had promised to end our engagement in that country, including President Trump, who started the process in 2020. President Biden followed through on that commitment. In the months ahead, he must continue to show a commitment to counter terrorist threats in the same way as he has done with the recent successful strikes against ISIS leadership in Syria.

"Finally, where other presidents have failed in the past, the president helped facilitate negotiations and signed into law a historic bipartisan infrastructure bill that will make long-term investments in roads, rail, broadband, bridges, clean water, and much more, while creating jobs and boosting local economies across the country. As these investments move forward, the country will benefit from this legislation for many years to come." -- Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02)

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