Montana Delegation Responds to State of the Union

President Obama delivered his final State of the Union Address this evening. Senator Tester, Daines and Congressman Zinke respond:

Senator Tester: The President has laid out his priorities, and now it’s time for Congress to outline ours and get to work fixing the dysfunction that is plaguing Washington. We must defeat ISIS, create better paying jobs, make college more affordable, and end the flood of money in politics. It’s past time for Congress to step up to tackle the tough issues and provide the leadership that Montanans and Americans expect.

Senator Daines: Rather than fighting for solutions that strengthen our economy, tonight President Obama cemented his failed legacy.

Rather than presenting concrete solutions that bolster our national security, President Obama chose to lead from behind.

Rather than supporting hardworking farmers and ranchers, President Obama doubled down on his administration’s bureaucratic land grabs that infringe on Montanans’ livelihoods.

Rather than using the largest national stage to fight for good paying tribal and union jobs, President Obama defended his excessive anti-energy regulations that burden Montana families with higher energy costs and threaten Montana’s economic future.

This speech was politics as usual from a President that has weakened America’s power on the world stage and has acted in opposition to the will of the American people.

Montana jobs and the Montana economy are more important than President Obama’s legacy – and Montana can’t afford any more of it.

Congressman Zinke: Tonight was more of the same from President Obama: more divisive campaign rhetoric while turning a blind eye toward the real threats facing our nation from terrorists and rogue regimes like North Korea and Iran, who is currently holding ten of our Navy sailors and four of our citizens, and launched two ICBMs since signing the President’s Iranian nuclear deal. In fact, he didn’t even name the threat: radical Islamic terrorism.

Tonight President Obama doubled-down on his plan to close Guantanamo Bay and release dozens of dangerous terrorists from its cells despite the fact that it is illegal. Releasing terrorists from Guantanamo Bay who have killed American citizens not only is a national security risk, but it is also a slap in the face to every American who died on the battlefield to put them there.  The president says that these terrorists are reformed, the facts say different.  Nearly 30 percent of former Guantanamo detainees are confirmed or suspected of engaging in terrorist activities, the majority remain at large.  A catch and release program may work for trout in Montana, but it does not work for terrorists.

Under this Administration, law-abiding Americans feel persecuted. The President and his allies speak of gun owners as if we are criminals, however the person in the House Chamber tonight who has broken the law is Barack Obama. His refusal to abide by the Constitutional limits he swore to protect is the behavior of a king, not a president.

The President, by his own admission, has done nothing to bring Americans together, rather he has driven us apart.
After seven years, this President has become like the emperor with no clothes: full of pride and blind to reality. Thank God this is his last State of the Union.”