SOTU: Murray Delivers Floor Speech Urging Republicans to Build on Bipartisanship for Year of Action

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray (D-WA) delivered remarks on the Senate floor following President Obama’s State of the Union Address last night. Murray highlighted polices from the President’s speech including raising the minimum wage, ensuring women have equal economic opportunity, and investing in a national preschool initiative, which would bolster economic growth now and in the future.

Murray called on Republicans to build on bipartisan progress demonstrated in the budget deal last year and to work with the President and Democrats to deliver results for the American people, rather than lurch backward into another debt limit crisis that would cause economic harm and uncertainty.

Key Excerpts from Senator Murray’s Speech:

“…over the past few years, Congress has been lurching from crisis to crisis, stumbling from one artificial deadline to the next, and too often engaging in petty partisan bickering instead of solving problems for the families we represent. But at the end of last year, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and I worked together to show the American people it didn’t have to be this way.”

“…our two-year budget deal was a step in the right direction. We proved that bipartisanship was possible in this divided government—that Democrats and Republicans could break through the bitterness and rancor, work together, and reach an agreement. Our deal rolled back damaging across-the-board cuts and prevented a government shutdown. It moved our country forward, but we can’t stop now. Because the vast majority of Americans understand that our economy simply isn’t working the way it needs to be for people like them.”

“We need to face up to the reality that working women across the country, and working moms in particular, are struggling to find work that pays a living wage at a time when they’re balancing being both the breadwinners and the caretakers in so many families…we need policy changes that focus on all workers, but also help women catch up if we are truly going to create economic opportunities that expand the middle class and strengthen our families.”

“I’m at the table. I’m ready to build on that bipartisan foundation we laid down with our budget deal. But I am very worried that while the President and many of us in Congress are talking about working together to move the country forward, some Republicans are already talking about dragging us backward into another needless crisis…this is absurd.”

“…let me be very clear, Democrats aren’t going to negotiate over whether or not the government should pay its bills. And if Republicans continue down this path of empty threats and dangerous demands, they will get exactly what they got the last time they tried to play politics with our economic recovery: nothing.”

“Democrats want to work with Republicans to tackle our challenges fairly and responsibly. That’s what the President talked about last night, and it’s what we are here to talk about today. But as Chairman Ryan and I showed just a few months ago, the way for both sides to get what they want is through compromise and negotiation, not hostage-taking or threats. The American people are expecting us to work together. They want more deals and fewer fights."

Full Text of Senator Murray’s Speech:
“M. President, last night President Obama laid out an optimistic vision for a great nation that must never stop working to become even greater.

“When the President gave his first State of the Union in February of 2009, our economy was losing over 700,000 jobs a month. Wall Street firms had collapsed and taken Main Street businesses with them, and economists weren’t sure how deep it would go, or if we would tip from a Great Recession into a true depression.

“Families across the country were huddled around kitchen tables, talking late into the night, trying to figure out how they were going to stay in their homes, send their kids to college, or even put food on the table.
“People who had gone to work every single day of their adult lives, who hadn’t had to update their resume in 20 years, didn’t know how they were going to pull their lives together when they got that pink slip.

“Workers who had jobs they thought were secure, were panicking, knowing if things continued to go wrong, nobody was truly safe.

“But M. President, a lot has changed in five years. It hasn’t been perfect, it certainly hasn’t been smooth. We weren’t able to do nearly enough, and we need to do far more.

“But last night, President Obama was able to talk about the progress we’ve made since he inherited the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression.

“He was able to talk about the 46 months straight of private sector growth, about an unemployment rate that has come down from dangerous heights.
“He discussed the work that still remains to help the millions of workers still trying to get back on the job, and he articulated a vision not just for bolstering our still-fragile economic recovery, but also for continuing the great American tradition of leaving our children a stronger nation than the one we inherited from our parents.

“A vision of a country that makes sure every child has an opportunity to work hard, contribute to her community, and succeed to the best of her ability.
“A country that doesn’t just have economic growth at the top that may or may not trickle down—but that has broad-based prosperity, built from the middle out.

“And a vision of a country that offers workers and families the stability and security they expect when they put in a lifetime of hard work.

“M. President, President Obama talked about ways he is going to make this year a year of action, and I know that’s what the American people are expecting. Some of that will come through executive action and public-private partnerships, but a lot of what we need to do depends on us here in Congress.

“M. President, over the past few years, Congress has been lurching from crisis to crisis, stumbling from one artificial deadline to the next, and too often engaging in petty partisan bickering instead of solving problems for the families we represent.

“But at the end of last year, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and I worked together to show the American people it didn’t have to be this way.

“When we sat down together in the budget conference Democrats had been trying to start for seven months, we faced a lot of skepticism.

“Many people were hoping we would reach a deal and avoid another crisis, however they were far from confident that this budget group would succeed where so many others failed.

“But Chairman Ryan and I listened to each other, we searched for common ground, and we made some compromises.

“We knew we were never going to agree on everything, but we didn’t think that should mean we couldn’t agree on anything. We wanted a deal, not a fight, and we were able to put partisanship aside to do the right thing for the American people.

“M. President, our two-year budget deal was a step in the right direction.

“We proved that bipartisanship was possible in this divided government—that Democrats and Republicans could break through the bitterness and rancor, work together, and reach an agreement.

“Our deal rolled back damaging across-the-board cuts and prevented a government shutdown. It moved our country forward, but we can’t stop now.

“Because the vast majority of Americans understand that our economy simply isn’t working the way it needs to be for people like them.

“And we need to do more to expand economic opportunities for the families, small-business owners and communities across the country who are looking to us to get this right.

“They see the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations continue to take advantage of an unfair tax code filled with special interest loopholes and giveaways. They see fewer and fewer opportunities for workers to find jobs, earn enough for a stable middle class life, or send their kids to college. They watch as their government cuts back on critical investments in long-term and broad-based economic growth. And they want more than partisan bickering from their elected representatives, they want real action.

“M. President, we will spend a lot of time here over the next few months discussing many of the policies President Obama talked about last night, but I want to focus today on a few he mentioned that impact women and their economic opportunities in particular.

“So when we talk about creating opportunity in America, we need to focus on the fact that women continue to be paid 77 cents for every dollar a man earns, and make up two-thirds of all minimum wage workers.

“So we need policy changes that focus on all workers, but also help women catch up if we are truly going to create economic opportunities that expand the middle class and strengthen our families.

“So M. President, I was very glad to hear President Obama announce last night that he will be raising the minimum wage for federal contractors.

“We need to build on that to give millions more women and men across the country a raise—and make sure working hard and having a job is rewarded. This is something we will be moving on here in Congress in the near future, and I am hoping Republicans decide to put politics aside and work with us to get this done.

“M. President, I was also very glad to hear President Obama double down on his commitment to a national preschool initiative that would not only help our youngest children and pay dividends in future economic growth, but would also empower millions of women who would be able to go to work and give back to their communities.

“This is not just a policy for me—it’s personal. It’s what got me into politics in the first place and it’s something that has driven me ever since.

“As a former preschool teacher, I saw in my own classroom that when young children got the attention they needed early, they would be miles ahead of their peers on the path to success.

“I saw that the students I had who had been taught to raise their hand to ask a question, or stand in line to go to recess, were the ones more prepared to tackle a full curriculum in school.

“But it’s not just my personal experience, study after study has made it clear that beginning to educate children at an early age means they will be less likely to be held back, require special education, engage in criminal activity, and ultimately, they’ll be more likely to graduate high school and earn more.

“Investing in preschool is overwhelmingly supported by the American people – most recent polls show over 80% of Americans believe we should pursue this across the country. And, M. President, it is strongly supported by the many people who truly understand the impact it would have on the ground.

“I have talked to law enforcement officials who said they believe early education is key to reducing crime, as well as business, innovation, and education leaders who all see the long-term impact that investing in early education has on our children and communities.

“We need to make these investments in our children and our future, Congress needs to act, and every day we wait is another opportunity lost.

“M. President, these are just a few of the policies President Obama talked about that I am ready to get to work on. The President also talked about the clear need to reform our immigration system, support our veterans and wounded warriors, reform our bloated and unfair tax code, and invest in our nation’s infrastructure priorities.

“The American people are expecting their elected officials to work together to tackle these issues, and many more, over the coming months and years.
“So M. President, I’m at the table. I’m ready to build on that bipartisan foundation we laid down with our budget deal.

“But I am very worried that while the President and many of us in Congress are talking about working together to move the country forward, some Republicans are already talking about dragging us backward into another needless crisis.
“M. President—this is absurd.

“We went through this just a few months ago, and there’s no reason for Republicans to put our country through this again.

“Republican leaders proved at the end of last year that they weren’t going to actually follow the Tea Party off the cliff and let the federal government default.
“And after a lot of drama, partisan posturing, and economic pain for millions of families, Republicans dropped their demands and joined Democrats to reopen the government and avoid a default.

“Republican leaders have said they aren’t going to let the country default this time either, but they seem unable to stop playing silly games with this issue to make the Tea Party happy.

“So let me be very clear, Democrats aren’t going to negotiate over whether or not the government should pay its bills. And if Republicans continue down this path of empty threats and dangerous demands, they will get exactly what they got the last time they tried to play politics with our economic recovery: nothing.

“So I call on my Republican colleagues to stop working on their wish list of debt limit demands, stop thinking about new threats they can make to the economy, and join us at the table to work on the real issues we need to address.

“Democrats want to work with Republicans to tackle our challenges fairly and responsibly. That’s what the President talked about last night, and it’s what we are here to talk about today.

“But as Chairman Ryan and I showed just a few months ago, the way for both sides to get what they want is through compromise and negotiation, not hostage-taking or threats.

“The American people are expecting us to work together. They want more deals and fewer fights.

“I know Democrats are ready to get to work, and I am hopeful that Republicans will work with us to make this year of action in Congress too.

“Thank you M. President. I yield the floor.”

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