WASHINGTON—United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) today released the following video and statement in response to President Joe Biden’s address to a joint session of Congress:
“Sadly, this address left a false impression of what President Biden’s first 100 days has really been about. This is a President who— in a matter of three months— has propped our border open and kept our schools shut, put in place polices that destroy jobs and our energy independence, and demonized many Americans instead of bringing us together. […] Tennesseans want to put this pandemic in our rearview mirror, rebuild our economy, reopen our schools, and see wages rising again. Instead, President Biden has proposed the largest tax hike on Americans in a generation, which will not only kill jobs it will destroy any economic recovery we have seen thus far. […] This was not a speech for the American people, it was a speech for the liberal base of the Democrat party who are wanting higher taxes, open borders, less secure elections, to pack the Supreme Court, and the Green New Deal. As your Senator, I’m going to fight this socialist wish list every day by standing up for your constitutional rights, advancing pro-growth policies that lower taxes, grow jobs, and help the American worker succeed, and reduce the size and scope of government.”
*Click the photo above or here to watch or download*
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery
“Good evening. Like me, you just heard President Joe Biden’s first address to a joint session of Congress.
Sadly, this address left a false impression of what President Biden’s first 100 days has really been about. This is a President who in a matter of three months has propped our border open and kept our schools shut, put in place polices that destroy jobs and our energy independence, and demonized many Americans instead of bringing us together.
I attended President Biden’s inauguration and was optimistic when he spoke of “healing,” “unity,” and “coming together,” but tonight’s address was unfortunately more of the same—empty rhetoric, empty promises, and empty solutions—that are folly—a socialist wishlist—for his liberal base, instead of all hardworking Americans.
Tennesseans want to put this pandemic in our rearview mirror, rebuild our economy, reopen our schools, and see wages rising again.
Instead, President Biden has proposed the largest tax hike on Americans in a generation, which will not only kill jobs it will destroy any economic recovery we have seen thus far.
Spending, spending, spending is what we heard tonight, instead of jobs, jobs, jobs. As a lifelong business man and the former commissioner of economic development in Tennessee who helped our state recover from the last recession, this is the wrong approach.
He called on Congress to continue this spending spree that congressional Democrats have already started, growing the size of government, regulating small businesses, and making it harder for the American worker to compete.
Countries around the world are laughing all the way to the bank because they will be the beneficiaries of a weaker America.
Tennesseans also want to be safe and secure, yet President Biden failed to put forth a meaningful plan to combat the largest surge in illegal immigration that we’ve seen in 20 years—a surge which is entirely the result of his Administration’s knee-jerk decision to reverse the successful policies of the previous Administration.
This was not a speech for the American people, it was a speech for the liberal base of the Democrat party who are wanting higher taxes, open borders, less secure elections, to pack the Supreme Court, and the Green New Deal.
Biden has put us on a dangerous path to socialist policies that will weaken us as a nation.
As your Senator, I’m going to fight this socialist wish list every day by standing up for your constitutional rights, advancing pro-growth policies that lower taxes, grow jobs, and help the American worker succeed, and reduce the size and scope of government.
President Biden failed to acknowledge many of our serious challenges but I won’t.
From Mountain City to Memphis, it’s an honor to serve and represent the people of Tennessee as your U.S. Senator. Thank you, and God bless!”