President Barack Obama delivered his seventh and final State of the Union Address to Congress last Tuesday, Jan. 12. Rep. Judy Chu attended the speech and released the following reaction:
“It’s been my privilege to be in attendance for the past five State of the Union addresses by President Obama. But this one, with a look at where we have come from and what still lies ahead, felt particularly special. When the president gave his first State of the Union, he spoke about the need for TARP to save failing banks and the stimulus package to get our economy going again. The Affordable Care Act was still three months from being signed into law. Today, the banking industry has recovered, the stimulus worked, and 16.4 million uninsured people have gained health coverage. As proof of just how far we’ve come, tonight’s State of the Union came on the heels of the December jobs report which shows that we added 292,000 jobs last month. This is the 70th consecutive month of private sector job growth – an incredible record that has resulted in 14.1 million new jobs, dropping our unemployment rate to five percent, down from a peak of 10 percent in 2009.
“But as the president made clear, this is far from a victory lap. The State of the Union is an opportunity to showcase what is best about the country, but also to lay out what must be improved. To me, one of the most obvious answers to both is our treatment of immigrants and minorities. The president spoke about the role that immigrants have played in our past and the role they must continue to play in our future. It is crucial that we be the open country that benefits from the hard work and contributions of immigrants from all over the world, not one that closes our borders to them out of fear and prejudice. President Obama rightfully raised the violence of ISIL and our responsibility to take in refugees from Iraq and Syria, but I was disappointed that he did not address the cruel deportations of refugees fleeing the violence of Central America who are just as deserving of our help. I have called for an end to these deportations and will continue to push this president and the next to implement a more humane and responsible immigration policy.
“Vocal support for immigration and minorities is vital today as we are facing a nasty and un-American anti-immigrant backlash. The hate speech coming from the highest levels of our political conversations is dangerous, leading to an increase in violence against Muslim Americans. We cannot let ourselves be torn apart by xenophobia. That is why I was honored to invite Adnan Khan, a local Muslim leader with experience building bridges between communities, to be my guest tonight. As the president said, we must make it clear that xenophobia and racism have no place in our country.
“In the wake of the San Bernardino shooting, in our own backyard, reaching out to Muslims is a national security imperative as well. One of our biggest threats today is actually from homegrown terrorists, which is part of the reason we only hurt ourselves by isolating and demonizing the Muslim community and I applaud the president for raising that important point.”
