Miller-Meeks Reacts to President Biden’s Joint Address

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, April 29th, 2021, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-02), who was in the chamber during the President’s speech, issued the following statement after President Biden’s Joint Address to Congress:

“Last night, President Biden reiterated some of the same topics he touched on in his Inaugural Address. The President was well-received by Members of Congress, and his speech was well-toned and well-delivered. He spoke on unity, bipartisanship, and coming together as a nation. Unfortunately, I do not believe we have seen much of this in the first 100 days of his Administration.

I am discouraged over the President’s plan to raise taxes, which I believe will inevitably harm hard-working taxpayers. I appreciated President Biden’s rhetoric on bringing jobs back to America and I look forward to working with the Administration to do so. But, in the first 100 days, the Biden Administration killed the Keystone XL Pipeline, eliminating thousands of jobs, and giving more power to foreign energy producers. The President also talked about taking on China, yet the masks we were given last night were made in China.

I welcomed the President’s support for vaccinations, and I believe that his Administration has done “admirable” work encouraging Americans to get vaccinated. I also believe that there needs to be more credit given to former President Trump and his Administration for developing Operation Warp Speed, which miraculously gave us three safe and effective vaccines in just nine months.

I was disappointed to see that President Biden did not address the ongoing crisis at our southern border. Since coming to Congress in January, I have traveled to the border twice, and I can assure you that it is a crisis that must be addressed. Our border agents are overwhelmed, underfunded, and they need our help now. The President and Vice President, who was put in charge of the border, need to see the crisis for themselves as soon as possible.

It is my sincere hope that these are not just empty words and that we will start to see real bipartisan compromise to improve the lives of all Americans.”

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