Dysfunctional Congress, or no?

The State of the Union address has been delivered. Below are responses of Senator Sessions, Senator Shelby, and Representative Sewell. [I will post response of Representative Palmer when I can find it.]

Do the SOTU address and these responses help you in deciding whether we will have a dysfunctional Congress for another two years?

AL lawmakers respond to State of the Union address

Posted: Jan 20, 2015 9:32 PM CSTUpdated: Jan 20, 2015 9:33 PM CST
By WAFF.com Staff
CONNECT

From Senator Jeff Sessions:

“Tonight President Obama stayed the course of tax, spend, borrow, regulate, and add to the debt. This policy has hammered working families, whose average inflation-adjusted income has fallen a stunning $4,200 since 2009. Labor force participation for both men and women between 25–54 has been steadily falling since the President took office, while 12 million people have left the workforce entirely.
On immigration, the President remains wedded to a lawless policy that serves only the interest of an international elite while reducing jobs and benefits for everyday Americans. All net employment gains since the recession in 2007 have gone to foreign workers, and yet the President has violated federal law in order to provide work permits to 5 million illegal immigrants—allowing them to take any of the few good jobs that exist. In effect, the President delivered an address tonight to a Congress whose authority he does not recognize and to a public whose votes he has nullified with an imperial edict. Congress must use every tool at its disposal to stop this unlawful edict, end the immigration lawlessness, and reverse our slide towards congressional irrelevance.”


From Senator Richard Shelby:

“Tonight's address from President Obama was once again heavy on rhetoric and light on real solutions for families and businesses across the nation. Voters sent a strong message in November that they are dissatisfied with the growing role of government in their lives, yet the President failed to discuss his plans to work with Republicans in Congress on addressing these important concerns.

“The President's address tonight did not include plans to rescind his decision to circumvent Congress and unilaterally grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants. It failed to outline a way to provide the American people with relief from the destructive impacts of Obamacare. We also did not hear about his plans to enact policies that will reenergize the private sector and encourage job growth or to work with Republicans on common sense ideas to boost our nation's energy independence such as allowing construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline.

“I believe that Alabamians – and all Americans – deserve better than more of the same failed tax and spend policies from this Administration. That is why I urge President Obama to join us in supporting policies that get Washington out of the way and create economic conditions to give the American people an opportunity to succeed.”

STATEMENT FROM CONGRESSWOMAN SEWELL ON THE STATE OF THE UNION
January 21, 2015

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL) released the following statement on President Obama’s State of the Union Address:

Our nation’s greatness rests firmly on the pledge that all Americans have an equal opportunity to achieve their dreams. Tonight, President Obama proposed turning that pledge into a promise.

The President unveiled his vision to strengthen the working and middle classes by making homeownership more affordable, advocating for paid family leave, and ensuring a college education is more accessible for qualified students.

Our economy has grown tremendously since the depths of the financial crisis. The President reminded us that businesses have created 11 million new jobs and that the unemployment rate has fallen.

We have come far, but that does not mean our work is done. Far too many Americans are still struggling, and we need a comprehensive strategy that adequately addresses their needs.

The President also acknowledged that one of our most fundamental rights – the right to vote – has been ‘denied for too many,’ and referenced the 50th anniversary of the march from Selma to Montgomery.

As a daughter of Selma – and as the Congresswoman who represents Birmingham, Selma, and Montgomery – I know that the injustices protesters suffered on the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday have not been fully vindicated.

My special guest for the President’s address was 103-year-old voting rights matriarch Amelia Boynton Robinson. Ms. Boynton Robinson was one of those courageous Foot Soldiers who dared to challenge an unfair and unjust system that kept African Americans from exercising their constitutionally protected right to vote.

I am pleased that she had a chance to meet the President tonight, and we look forward to welcoming him to Selma for the 50th commemoration of the historic Selma to Montgomery march.