Congressman Paul Tonko made the following statement in reaction to President Obama's State of the Union Address:
Congressman Paul Tonko made the following statement in reaction to President Obama’s State of the Union Address:
“One year ago I entered office with the new administration and together we inherited a collapsing economy, tens of thousands of newly unemployed Americans, and a huge deficit. Since then, we have worked to stabilize the economy and dramatically slow the rate of job losses, and lay the groundwork for an economic recovery. Without the work we did, millions more jobs would have been lost.
“Now, we must move to meet the President’s challenge to create jobs and rebuild our economy through smart investments in small businesses, green jobs, clean energy, and innovation. We can see the payoff in this kind of investment right here in the Capital Region – at General Electric, Albany Nano, Global Foundries, EnerGRotors and so many more. The clean energy economy is America’s new Space Race, and if we do not invest in this energy revolution we will transition from buying oil from the most troubled spots in the world to importing solar panels from China. In so doing, we will have failed generations of American workers.
“One more critical piece of the puzzle is education, and our community colleges will play a central role in training and retraining the workforce for the jobs that will be created in this new economy. That’s why my invited guest this evening was Schenectady County Community College President Quintin Bullock. President Obama visited a community college in the Capital Region last year and expressed his support for developing an innovation economy in Upstate New York and I am committed to working with community colleges, trades, scientists, engineers, venture capitalists, and entrepreneurs to get the economic engine of the region running once again.
I commend the President for continuing to stand up for the middle class and for focusing on job creation.”
