Kerry on President Obama's Congressional Address

[ProSense]

02/25/2009

Kerry on President Obama's Congressional Address

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) released the following statement after President Barack Obama’s address to a special joint session of Congress:

“I’ve waited a long, long time to hear a President of the United States talk this way, and what a powerful statement to hear his vision applauded on both sides of the aisle.

As President Obama outlined tonight, fixing our economy requires hard work and tough choices. We’ve passed an enormous economic recovery package that will create 70,000 jobs in Massachusetts and invest more than $10 billion in our state for job creating projects from Boston to New Bedford, from rail to construction to green technology.

“But that recovery plan won’t provide lasting relief unless we immediately solve our bedrock economic problems by fixing our banks’ balance sheets and repairing our shattered housing market that has millions of Americans living on the brink of foreclosure. The message I hope was heard tonight by everyone from Pittsfield to Plymouth and all the cities and towns in between is: help is on the way. Whether it’s our young people who will be building housing through the YouthBuild programs in Massachusetts, or the thousands of retired cops, teachers, and firefighters who will receive tax relief, or the students who will have a chance now to stay in college, or the small business owners who will get a break on loan program fees, people across Massachusetts can know that we are already making progress to put our economy on the road to recovery.

“As Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, I was moved to finally hear an American President talk about ending torture, reengaging in diplomacy and tackling global climate change, closing Guantanamo, getting it right in Afghanistan, and making the country we love stronger and safer both at home and abroad.

“I applaud the President for his candor and his optimism. He knows we are in a deep hole, but he is dead-on correct that together we will pull through. Now we must all rise to the President’s call for bipartisanship so that together, as Americans, we will help put our country back to work and reestablish America’s tradition in the world.”