“The vision President Obama laid out for the nation in his final State of the Union address tonight is clear-eyed and compelling, and his agenda is exactly what the country needs. The priorities he articulated – which include fair wages, paid family and medical leave, a higher minimum wage, strong Social Security and Medicare programs, reliable health coverage and greater efforts to lift people out of poverty – will make our families, our economy and our country stronger. It will deliver the higher standard of living, the strength and the fairness we need to thrive.
This State of the Union address was a powerful affirmation that our nation’s strength has always been, and will always be, based on our commitment to fairness, equal opportunity, and a real chance for economic security for all. We echo the president’s call for an end to bias and discrimination, and to reject any politics that target people because of race or religion, because our respect for diversity and openness is, at its core, what makes our country strong. Women – and especially women of color, immigrant women, seniors, and women in poverty – have faced discrimination for too long and our country suffers terribly as a result. We must end bias and discrimination of all kinds, root it out everywhere it springs up, and recognize the many ways it weakens us.
This was a compelling, resonant call for real American values and for the agenda our nation needs to become more fair, family friendly, healthy and strong. We commend President Obama for the powerful speech he delivered tonight.”