Senator Kay Hagan on Tonight’s State of the Union Address
Senator Kay Hagan on State of the Union Address
January 24, 2012
Contact: Jack Pfeiffer
(p) 202-657-2007 (e) press@hagan.senate.gov
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Kay R. Hagan (NC) tonight commented after the President delivered his address on the State of the Union to a Joint Session of Congress. Hagan explicitly rejected the poisonous partisanship in Washington and crossed the aisle to sit with Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona.
“The President’s speech tonight addressed my number one priority for North Carolina – jobs.” said Hagan. “The economy is showing some hopeful signs, but not nearly enough. So I will continue to work with anyone – Democrat, Republican or Independent - to pass bipartisan, commonsense solutions to benefit middle class workers and their families. I crossed the aisle tonight to sit with my friend and Armed Services Committee colleague from Arizona, Republican Senator John McCain, because we work together closely on a range of national security issues and because we know that bipartisan cooperation isessential to achieving principled and pragmatic results for the American people. I will soon begin a jobs tour through North Carolina to speak with small business owners, workers, community colleges and workforce development officers about the steps we can take right now to get people back to work.
“The President wisely highlighted the importance of American manufacturing. North Carolina's legendary manufacturing tradition is under assault as our economy struggles and thousands of jobs are shipped overseas. That is why I broke with the Administration and voted against all three of the so-called Free Trade Agreements and in favor of calling the Chinese out on the continuing manipulation of their currency. I am not fighting alone, however. As Lincolnton resident Bruce Cochrane, the First Lady’s guest at tonight’s speech, is demonstrating, North Carolina is still fertile ground for American entrepreneurs to launch companies and create manufacturing jobs. My four favorite words are ‘Made in North Carolina,’ and I will never stop fighting to ship that label to the four corners of the globe.
“Just as you cannot build a stable house without a strong foundation, we cannot build our manufacturing sector without first-rate education and training programs. We are blessed in North Carolina to have the best community college system in the country. Jackie Bray of King’s Mountain, another guest of the First Lady tonight, is a perfect example of how our state’s community colleges can serve our state’s first-class workforce. In 2012, I will continue to push hard to pass my AMERICA Works Act that creates an industry-recognized, manufacturing credential program at community colleges to connect skilled workers with job openings. North Carolina families shouldn’t bestruggling to find jobs while North Carolina employers are struggling to find qualified workers. And through my North Carolina workforce development roundtables, I will continue to bring together employers, community colleges, and economic development officials so that we can ensure every worker is able to access the skills required to meet the needs of our employers.
“The President also advocated for expanding the American energy sector. This is music to my ears. North Carolina is well-positioned to benefit from investments in next generation energy technology. Clean energy jobs created by our state’s innovative and forward-thinking companies lower energy costs, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and cannot be shipped overseas."
Last year, Hagan introduced the Powering America’s Lithium Production Act to provide grants for research and development of next-generation lithium products. Lithium is the material of choice for rechargeable batteries that are essential to developing electric vehicles and smart grid technologies. However, battery-grade lithium metal for the most advanced batteries is supplied almost exclusively from offshore sources, including China. Of the three manufacturers capable of producing the material necessary to power advancedlithium batteries, two are headquartered in North Carolina. For more on that bill, please click here.
“The American people, resilient as ever, are looking to their elected representatives for sensible economic solutions. They want the partisan bickering to stop. I will continue to seek out every opportunity to work with all of my colleagues – like Senator McCain – to help North Carolinians and all American families move beyond this ferocious economic downturn. We're all in this together.”
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