Letlow Responds to President Biden's State of the Union Address

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congresswoman Julia Letlow (LA-05) today released the following statement in response to President Biden's State of the Union Address. 
 
I left incredibly disappointed by the words spoken tonight because at a time when the United States needs to exude strength, we instead found that the most pressing issues for the world, our nation, and our state were simply ignored.
 
Make no mistake, the policies that the President put forward tonight are the same ideas that have failed our country time and time again. As Republicans, we instead believe that the best way to put America on the right track is to embrace conservative solutions such as "peace through strength," fiscal responsibility, and a focus on domestic energy production.
 
Over the past week, we’ve all seen the horrific images from Ukraine, as Vladimir Putin and his henchmen have carried out a brutal genocide against innocent civilians. The United States and our allies cannot allow this unwarranted attack of a sovereign, independent, and democratic country to go unpunished. We must use the harshest diplomatic and economic measures possible to expel Russia from the international community and make it clear to hostile nations that we will not stand by and allow the fires of freedom to be extinguished anywhere in the world.
 
We should heed the words of President Reagan, who said, "Freedom is not the sole prerogative of a chosen few, but the universal right of all God's children."
 
What is happening in Ukraine is a tragic international crisis, and here at home, we’re feeling financial impacts as gas prices rise all over the country. But Louisiana has the solution that can lead to energy independence. Our state has both abundant oil and gas reserves and a skilled workforce ready to return to work. We can unleash the full power of American energy and fuel the nation once again, but first we need this Administration to change their misguided policies.
 
Every single day, I hear from hardworking people who are struggling as inflation increasingly eats away at their paychecks. Tonight, the President spoke of creating new social programs and increasing spending. But we know that with a national debt of over $30 trillion, our country can’t afford to keep writing excessive checks. We need to be focused on fiscal responsibility and addressing inflation – it will not only bring order to our economic house, but also increase our standing on the world stage.
 
Last week, I joined a delegation of my colleagues in Israel for an official visit. While I was there, I was struck by the unity shown by their citizens. Israel has numerous political parties, and as many varying viewpoints as we have here in the United States, but I couldn’t help but notice an emerging theme – the immense and unified national pride. The people firmly believe that they are Israelis first and must work together to protect their homeland.
 
Let us learn from their example. We are divided politically, but now more than ever, we must come together as Americans first. As we’ve seen in recent days, hostile nations around the world want to replace the values of freedom and liberty with tyranny and oppression. We are the United States – we must stand strong, stand together, and be the shining light of democracy for the world.