Congressman Adam Smith (D-WA9) responded to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, addressing the president's economic priorities.
“The most pressing challenges our country faces are creating jobs and charting a responsible path towards fiscal security. This starts with Congress eliminating sequestration, but it also includes passing long-term federal budgets that lift the crippling uncertainty destined to devastate our economy.
“Tonight, the President laid out the right steps to move towards economic certainty by taking a balanced approach of increasing revenues and reducing spending, making it clear that we cannot simply cut our way to prosperity. As the President highlighted, it is critical that we make investments in education and clean energy, as well as comprehensive reforms to our immigration system that ensures that bright minds and driven workers are coming to our country to expand job opportunities and strengthen the economy.
“The time is now for Congress to make difficult choices and find long-term solutions that provide economic stability and reduce our national deficits. We must agree to solutions that eliminate the threat of sequestration, and provides the federal government, and the economy, with the certainty they need to move forward. I will work with the President and my colleagues in Congress to provide new job opportunities and immediate economic growth while finding long-term solutions to our fiscal situation."
Smith lives in Bellevue and represents Washington's 9th Congressional District, which includes Mercer Islsand, Bellevue, Renton, Newcastle, Seattle and North Tacoma, among other areas.
