Gov. Gregoire�s statement on State of the Union address

For Immediate Release: January 24, 2012

OLYMPIA � Gov. Chris Gregoire tonight issued the following statement on the President�s State of the Union address, which she attended in person at the invitation of U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA):

�The President delivered a speech tonight with exactly the right tone � that we must put America back to work, while we continue to celebrate the success stories that are helping us move forward and pull out of the national recession. Most administrations are dealt one crisis at a time. This administration has handled some of the most difficult challenges of our time and has done so with determination, effectiveness, and clarity.

�I�m pleased that President Obama, like me and my gubernatorial colleagues, has put a strong emphasis on rebuilding our middle class and preserving jobs that our citizens deserve. He knows no challenge is more urgent. We must rebuild a nation where every citizen has the opportunity to succeed, where our middle class is secure and where the American dream is still within reach. The President recognizes that we can�t stop until this economy is growing again, and thanks to his leadership and the policies he has pursued, the economy has added a total of 3.2 million private sector jobs over the last 22 months.

�The President has also stepped up to the real global crises we face. I�m proud that our troops in Iraq are home and that the transition in Afghanistan is progressing. In one of the boldest moves we�ve seen, he brought justice to Osama Bin Laden and al Qaeda and found new and important allies in countries around the world.

�I have enjoyed partnering with the President, and look forward to continued work to improve the lives of Washingtonians and citizens across the nation. This has no doubt been a challenging economic time, but as the President made clear tonight, the future is promising and he has laid out a plan to keep moving forward.�