As Published in The Hill
By Rep. Marc Veasey
This week’s State of the Union address underscored the importance of the choice Americans have at the ballot box in November. President Biden’s address laid out a bold vision for his second term that builds on the accomplishments he and Democrats in Congress have already secured for the American people during his first term in office. His vision continues to put people over politics by fighting for hardworking Americans in every corner of our nation, protecting our freedoms, and, of course, upholding our democracy.
On Super Tuesday, I had the opportunity to hear straight from voters while traveling around the diverse, working-class district that I represent in North Texas. During those conversations, it was made clear that people in my district want a reliable leader who can help them fix the everyday challenges they face, like lowering the costs of items that Americans depend on every day, fixing our broken immigration system, and protecting essential reproductive rights.
As a leader in the solutions-oriented New Democrat Coalition, breaking through gridlock in Washington to deliver for hardworking Texans and families across the country is always my top priority. President Biden’s State of the Union address highlighted that he and the Democrats have already broken through that gridlock to deliver results to tackle our nation’s most pressing challenges and will continue working to finish the job. Whether it is getting us back on our feet from the pandemic or enacting some of the most significant gun violence prevention legislation in decades, Democrats have listened to our constituents, acted, and delivered. President Biden’s State of the Union address laid out how we will keep delivering for our constituents. Democrats and President Biden will fight to grow the middle class to give everyone a fair shot, restore Roe v. Wade, make our communities safer, and more.
In contrast, reckless, radical Republicans want to plunge our nation into chaos. They are led by a blind allegiance to a twice-impeached, multiple-time indicted con man who now has to balance his time between the courtroom and the campaign trail. But, most importantly, we can never forget that Donald Trump incited a deadly insurrection to overturn our democracy and touted his misguided policies that killed millions of our fellow Americans during the pandemic. This man is who Republicans revere—and it is clear that his MAGA extremism has poisoned every rung of the Republican Party.
The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives has followed Donald Trump’s lead, moving from crisis to crisis and making this one of the most unproductive Congresses in modern history. They have repeatedly elected to engage in partisan political stunts that hurt the American people rather than work with commonsense Democrats like President Biden and my colleagues in the New Democrat Coalition to address our challenges. For example, Republicans recently tanked a comprehensive, bipartisan compromise that would help us finally address our broken immigration system and restore order at the border. I am a lifelong Texan, and I have been to the border many times. I, like many Americans, know that it’s time we tackle this challenge, which has vexed both Republican and Democratic-led administrations. Responsible lawmakers on both sides of the aisle want to get this done, as evidenced by the months of bipartisan negotiations to produce the recent border bill. But Republicans rejected this bill before they even read it because Donald Trump said leaving the border at the status quo would help his reelection chances.
We know cheap political stunts like that aren’t what actual leaders do. Actual leaders come to the table and prioritize people over politics—just like President Biden and congressional Democrats do every day. That’s why the New Democrat Coalition released a framework for bipartisan immigration reform after Republicans tanked the bill — we won’t stop fighting to break through partisan gridlock and deliver for the American people.
This November, the country has a chance to embrace the vision that President Biden laid out in his State of the Union — one that invests in the success of all Americans and protects the fundamental freedoms and democracy that make our nation great.
Rep. Marc Veasey is the United States Representative for Texas’s 33rd District and serves as a leadership member for the New Democrat Coalition.