CONYERS LAUDS PRESIDENT OBAMA’S COMMITMENT TO BOLD INVESTMENT IN AMERICA’S FUTURE

WASHINGTON – Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13) released the following statement after President Obama delivered his 6^th State of the Union Address to a Joint Session of Congress: 

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“Tonight, President Obama presented a powerful vision for America's economic success in the 21st century.  By focusing on education, career training, and basic financial security for working families, he demonstrated that we can achieve sustained and inclusive prosperity—not by slashing budgets, but by investing in people.

“The President's proposals to strengthen and expand proven programs like the Earned Income Tax Credit and career and technical education at community colleges are both not only good ethics, but also smart economics.  In the long run, these policies will help to reduce poverty and debt by giving working people the purchasing power they need to boost the economy and provide middle class stability for their families.  

“I applaud the President for his prudent attention to the unprecedented rise in income inequality, which threatens the character of the country as well as our economic future.  While 95 percent of the economic gains since the Great Recession have accrued to the Americans at the top 1 percent of the economic ladder, wages for the nation's working families have remained stagnant.  This is not because the majority of Americans aren't working hard enough—people are working harder than ever.  Rather, it is because the rules of the economy are increasingly skewed in favor of the top 1 percent.  Consider how stock markets are booming and worker productivity keeps rising, yet average take-home pay remains flat.

“The President's proposals to finance essential national investments in education, the safety net, cybersecurity, and infrastructure by increasing taxes on the wealthiest Americans and fees on the biggest financial institutions are a step in the right direction.  But it is up to Congress to finish the job.

“For far too long, America has shown its dissatisfaction with the ineffectual state of the Congress.  It is up to both chambers to work in a truly bipartisan fashion and follow President Obama’s lead on these initiatives in the interest of the American people.  The future of this great nation depends on it.”

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