Torres Response to State of the Union
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Rep. Norma J. Torres (D-Pomona) issued the following statement in response to President Barack Obama’s final State of the Union address:
“President Obama spoke tonight to a nation facing difficult times in an increasingly turbulent world, but as he said, we have come a long way in the past seven years and have every reason to look ahead to an even brighter tomorrow.
I share the President’s optimism in the capacity of the American people and in the American spirit, and I join in his call for a better politics. In my own community, the San Bernardino attacks have led to a rise in fear-mongering and reactionary policies, but as the President reminded us tonight, we have the world’s mightiest military. While we must continue to hone our military strategy to defeat ISIS and prevent future attacks, terrorists will not defeat us with weapons and fighters. The only way they win is if we give into fear and let our enemies destroy the values that have made this country great.
Our nation has never shied away from the challenges it’s faced, and with every hurdle we’ve crossed we’ve emerged stronger on the other side. We find ourselves at a decisive point in our history, and the American people deserve better than the pointless divisiveness that has dominated the political sphere.
This past year, we saw our 70th consecutive month of job growth, the US signed a historic climate agreement that finally brought some of the world's largest polluters to the table, and the Supreme Court upheld for a second time that all Americans should have access to healthcare. We cannot afford to now take a step back.
Whether it’s keeping our country safe or our economy strong, it is only through cooperation and a shared commitment to move this country forward that we can truly achieve a safer, more prosperous future. I hope my colleagues will heed the President’s call to keep the momentum going and work to tackle the many challenges facing our nation.”
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