President Biden’s State of the Union Address

Like many Nebraskans listening to the State of the Union address, I was hoping to hear President Biden correct course on his failed policies weakening border security, perpetuating inflation, and neglecting America’s trade interests. I was disappointed. Rather than embracing commonsense policies with potential to bring us together, the president needlessly continued down an extreme, far left, partisan path, distant from the views and struggles of most Americans.

When President Biden took office, inflation was at 1.4 percent. As a result of President Biden’s errant leadership, our nation is trillions of dollars deeper in debt and everyday expenses for American families continue to rise. While inflation has cooled from more than 9 percent thanks to Republican efforts to block the worst of Democrats tax and spending policies, it still remains double the January 2021 rate.

The strong, bipartisan United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, negotiated by the Trump administration, gave momentum to trade policy efforts to improve market access for American producers. However, because the Biden administration has failed to pursue enforceable trade agreements, American producers have lost ground in international markets.

In 2021, the brutal aggression of Vladimir Putin and Hamas had not yet spilled over into the violent conflicts raging today. Since then, through the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal and botched Iran deal, we’ve displayed weakness on the world stage.

When President Biden took office, policies such as “Remain in Mexico” and construction of a wall on our southern border were making clear that entering our country illegally would not be tolerated. On his first day in the White House, Biden suspended “Remain in Mexico,” halted border wall construction, and made it easier to enter the country illegally, clearly sending the wrong message.

Under President Biden’s watch, the Department of Justice has villainized parents seeking to be involved in the education of their own children. President Biden’s IRS has targeted petty, everyday transactions in what amounts to a “Babysitter Tax”, and the EPA has relentlessly sought to seize control over the drainage ditches and ponds belonging to private landowners.

The confrontational tone of his State of the Union address reflected the far more divisive path President Biden has chosen, especially compared to the 2020 candidate, Joe Biden. In what is traditionally a unifying moment for our country, the president shamefully broke decorum to directly berate members of the Supreme Court. Although he had an opportunity to take responsibility for the challenges we face as a nation and offer new ideas built around our shared values, he chose to tear down those who disagree with him on important policy issues.

Despite increasing polarization and incivility, I know the American people are eager for solutions. I am committed to fight hard against out-of-touch policies which make Americans less safe and threaten to make them less prosperous and less free. I stand ready to work with anyone, including President Biden, who wants to work in a constructive fashion to improve the lives of hardworking Nebraskans. I am disappointed President Biden failed to meet that standard this week.