Wyden Statement on President Biden’s State of the Union Speech

Washington, D.C. — Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released the following statement on President Biden’s State of the Union speech:

“The president is absolutely right that the tax system in America is deeply unfair. There’s one set of rules that applies to people like nurses and firefighters who work for a living, and there’s another set of rules that lets billionaires pay what they want and when they want. It’s long past time to fix that unfairness, and I’m going to continue fighting to get it done.

“The U.S. has created 12 million jobs in two years, unemployment is the lowest it’s been in more than half a century, wages are up, and inflation is down. Over those two years, Democrats have focused on helping middle class families get ahead by addressing big challenges like infrastructure, climate change, and sky-high drug prices. Even though we’re in a divided Congress, members ought to be working together to keep our growing economy on track, but House Republicans aren’t interested in that at all. 

“The biggest danger to our economy and job market is the threat that House Republicans will cause a catastrophic default. Everybody understands that a divided Congress will bring tough policy debates, but this kind of hostage taking that could destroy millions of jobs and trigger a serious recession is unacceptable. This crisis is entirely manufactured, and Republicans who voted for clean debt ceiling increases under Donald Trump are opposing one now. The economic damage will start to build up even before we reach a default.

“Republicans must stand down on the debt ceiling. When they do, there’s a lot for us to work on together, including bringing down the costs of housing, energy and health care, investing in more good-paying jobs, and supporting families with paid leave and more affordable child care.”

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