Alabama's Congressional officials respond to President Biden's 'wildly political' SOTU speech

The Alabama congressional delegation provided their opinions of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Thursday night. As expected, the Republican congressmen were critical of Biden’s fourth State of the Union and Democrat Rep. Terri Sewell praised the speech.

“This is the fourth time I’ve heard President Biden give an address to a joint session of Congress,” said Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville). “And all four times, it’s been the same overall message: deflect, mislead and play the blame-game with intense partisanship. The reality is that the state of our union is shaky at best under Joe Biden’s leadership.”

Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Hoover) said the state of the union is “in danger.”

“Mr. President, the American people know the state of the union is not strong,” he said. “It is in danger because of the policies of your administration and the Democrats in Congress.”

Rep. Dale Strong (R-Huntsville) said Biden was negligent in not mentioning the Southern Border crisis.

“Joe Biden mentioned his “predecessor” fourteen times but failed to label illegal crossings at our southern border as a crisis even once,” Strong said. “Tonight’s speech proves that he remains unwilling to acknowledge the realities facing American families.”

Sewell (D-Birmingham) said Biden delivered a strong and forceful message of hope over fear and thanked him for acknowledging Bloody Sunday.

“I am particularly grateful that President Biden acknowledged the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday and called on Congress to pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act,” she said.

Rep. Robert Aderholt: “This is the fourth time I’ve heard President Biden give an address to a joint session of Congress. And all four times, it’s been the same overall message: deflect, mislead and play the blame-game with intense partisanship. The reality is that the state of our union is shaky at best under Joe Biden’s leadership.

“The American people continue to suffer under high inflation, our porous southern border is an unprecedented disaster, and our allies are worried by our so-called leadership abroad, while our adversaries laugh. President Biden could directly address these problems, but he chooses to use House Republicans as a scapegoat.

“President Biden also continues to push previously unimaginable leftist policies and an aggressive woke agenda. For example, the days when even Democrats thought abortion should be “rare” are long gone. Now, President Biden and Democrats push for taxpayer-funded abortion every chance they get, even in Defense funding. And while I deeply sympathize with Kate Cox and families facing challenging prenatal diagnoses, the reality is that not even her doctor would sign off to certify a medical exception to enable her abortion.

“The President also chose tonight to sow division and fear where there should be none: among families struggling with infertility. This is a pain that has touched many families, so it’s essential to be clear that fertility treatment is not threatened by a ruling that reaffirms the value of human life. In Alabama, we support life-affirming treatments of infertility including responsible IVF. We also recognize the need for common-sense regulation of the fertility industry on behalf of parents who have trusted them.”

Rep. Gary Palmer:“In just three years, Biden has opened our borders and allowed over 8 million migrants to enter our nation illegally,” said Rep. Palmer.

“Among those are 361 individuals apprehended at our border who are on a terrorist watchlist. There are thousands of migrants here illegally who have serious criminal backgrounds. Since Biden has been in office, there have been 165 noncitizens convicted of homicide or manslaughter and over 1,200 sexual assault convictions. Deaths at the hands of noncitizens in the first 44 days of this year were averaging almost one every three days. Clearly, the Biden and Democrat open border policy is a major national security issue and a major public safety problem.

“Biden and the Democrats have pushed legislation and regulations that have added trillions of dollars to our national debt, raised energy cost and the cost of housing and essential household expenses. The cost of groceries is up over 21% because of Biden and his Democratic coconspirators in the House and Senate. As a result, senior citizens are having to take jobs or rely on charitable food pantries in order to have enough to eat and still be able to pay their utility bill and afford their medicine.

“Palmer concluded, “No, Mr. President, the American people know the state of the union is not strong. It is in danger because of the policies of your administration and the Democrats in Congress.”

Rep. Dale Strong: “Tonight, we saw a wildly political speech from a president seemingly obsessed with President Trump. Joe Biden mentioned his “predecessor” fourteen times but failed to label illegal crossings at our southern border as a crisis even once. Tonight’s speech proves that he remains unwilling to acknowledge the realities facing American families.

“President Biden called for trillions in new spending paid for by billions of new taxes, and the rest borrowed from China. With the Supreme Court of the United States seated directly in front of him, he threatened them to bow down to his radical liberal agenda. He claims he is a unifier, but the American people saw all the evidence right in front of them.”

Rep. Terri Sewell: “Tonight, the American people listened as President Biden delivered a strong and forceful message of hope over fear, democracy over tyranny, and progress over dysfunction. His speech drew a clear contrast between his vision for the future of our nation and the efforts by some to take us backward.

“I am particularly grateful that President Biden acknowledged the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday and called on Congress to pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. At a time when many are working to roll back our hard-fought rights and freedoms, President Biden and Democrats are united in defense of our democracy and our sacred right to vote!”