Rep. Roybal-Allard Statement on State of the Union
Statement
Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40) issued the following statement after attending the president's State of the Union address at the Capitol tonight:
"Tonight, my guest at the State of the Union was Kenia Arredondo, a constituent of my 40th District of California. She's a DACA recipient, raised in the United States, studying to be a nurse and striving to build a good life for herself and her children. Hard-working, hopeful, and patriotic Dreamers like Kenia remind me that our nation has the power to bring about a bright future for all. America can be a place where all are treated equally, where all working families can make ends meet, where each generation is better off than the one that came before them, and where our history as a nation of immigrants is honored rather than ignored or disparaged.
"In short, America needs an agenda that works For The People, and that is exactly what our new House Democratic majority is working tirelessly to deliver. We want to reduce health care costs by lowering the price of prescription drugs; we want to raise the wages of American workers by rebuilding our nation's infrastructure; and we want to take bold and wide-ranging action to clean up corruption in Washington.
"In addition, I'll soon be reintroducing the Dream Act, which will offer Dreamers like Kenia the opportunity to pursue a path to citizenship. As a member of the bicameral, bipartisan conference committee for the fiscal year 2019 Homeland Security funding bill, I'm also working with colleagues to develop smart and effective border security policies, instead of the costly and unjustified border wall demanded by the president.
"These are all goals that can unite Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, and we need to make them law. If the president is serious about unifying our country, I encourage him to join us in this critical work.
"Unfortunately, despite his occasional gestures tonight toward bipartisanship and unity, the president's full record tells a very different tale. Time and time again, President Trump has failed to support the middle class, he has failed to unify our nation, and he has failed to afford basic dignity to countless men, women, and children.
"He has sabotaged Americans' health care, driving up costs and the numbers of uninsured Americans, and he has continued to champion a lawsuit to destroy pre-existing condition protections.
"His 35-day Trump Shutdown was a completely avoidable assault on the economic security of working families.
"He oversaw a GOP tax scam that gave massive tax giveaways to the super-rich, Big Pharma, big banks, and corporations shipping American jobs overseas.
"He leads an administration riddled with corruption, cronyism, and incompetence -- a haven for lobbyists and special interests to wage war against protections and services for working families, seniors, service members, veterans, and the environment.
"He has torn our nation apart in pursuit of political gain, leveling an endless barrage of hateful and utterly unpresidential attacks against those who do not share his views, his gender, his race, or his religion.
"And he has opposed common sense homeland security investments if they do not feed his ego. Most recently, he tried to sabotage our productive, bipartisan conference discussions on real border security.
"We need an agenda worthy of our great nation. I stand with my fellow House Democrats in supporting policies that will work For The People. I call on President Trump to finally join us."
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