Doyle Reaction to State of the Union Address

Statement

U.S. Representative Mike Doyle (PA-18) released the following statement today in response to the State of the Union Address delivered by President Trump last night.

"The President hijacked a solemn ritual of our democracy and turned it into a partisan campaign rally. He took a golden opportunity to bring Americans together and unite us and used it instead to divide us and promote the polarization that's tearing this nation apart. The President used this event almost exclusively to toss red meat to his base and fire them up for his re-election campaign.

"Then, on top of that, he proceeded to fill his speech with false or misleading statements about the state of our nation and the accomplishments of his administration. The President hit a new low in the history of State of the Union speeches.

"The President incorrectly claimed credit for the health of the economy today. The fact of the matter is that our economy is doing well despite Donald Trump, not because of him. Our country is still benefiting from the recovery that started in 2009 under President Obama. We've had ten straight years of positive job growth, as well as economic growth. Even the low unemployment rate the President touted last night reflects ten straight years of declining annual unemployment.

"In President Trump's first 35 months, job growth was down 16 percent compared to the last 35 months of President Obama's years.

"Moreover, President Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which gave tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans and big corporations, gave the economy a short sugar high in 2018, but it has not spurred the business investment he predicted, produced higher economic growth, or pay for itself, as the administration promised.

"President Trump's trade wars have hurt our economy and have forced him to bail out industries that have suffered the biggest consequences.

"President Trump claimed that he has protected Americans with pre-existing conditions. In reality, President Trump pushed for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, which prohibited insurance companies from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions, and the Administration is currently suing to overturn it. The Administration has also issued rules that would allow insurance companies to circumvent the ACA's protections for people with pre-existing conditions. He has yet to propose a plan to ensure these 130 million Americans will have health coverage if his attempts are successful.

"President Trump falsely claimed that drug prices have decreased over the past year --while they have risen dramatically over the last three years. One in four Americans have reported that they have skipped their prescriptions over the past year due to cost. Candidate Trump supported allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, but once he was in office, President Trump flip-flopped and opposed allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices for Americans.

"President Trump spends a great deal of time and effort working against the issues Pittsburghers care about -- like affordable healthcare and jobs -- but he won't look into the camera and admit it."

"I heard a lot of false claims at the State of the Union address -- and all I can say is that I'll continue my work to enact policies that will actually improve the daily lives of all Americans."

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