Heinrich Statement On President Biden's Address To A Joint Session Of Congress

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) issued the following statement after President Joe Biden addressed a joint session of Congress: 

“Americans are counting on us to finally put an end to the pandemic and rebuild strong economies in every single community. President Biden has delivered the calm and steady leadership in the White House that we need to restore the promise of the American dream.

“In his speech tonight, the president told us that his administration is using the resources that Democrats passed in the historic American Rescue Plan to supercharge our vaccine rollout, safely bring students and teachers back into the classroom, and help small businesses and workers get back on track. He laid out why it is so important for us to invest in 21st century infrastructure, create millions of good-paying jobs, and tackle the existential threat posed by the climate crisis.

“The president also announced an ambitious, once-in-a-generation investment in American families. The American Families Plan will expand our children’s opportunities by providing each and every one of them with a high-quality education from early childhood all the way through to college and a good-paying career. And it will take a two-generation approach to deliver economic security to families by providing much-needed support for child care, making health care more affordable, and establishing a comprehensive national paid leave policy.

“I am clear eyed that much of the follow through on these bold promises from the White House will need to come from Congress—and specifically from the Senate. I would urge all of my colleagues to act with a real sense of urgency and work with the president to take on our country’s most pressing problems—systemic racial injustice, a broken immigration system, the climate emergency, and threats to our very democracy.”