U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján

From the Office of U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján:

WASHINGTON D.C.— U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) issued the following statement on President Biden’s first State of the Union speech, which was broadcast Tuesday night to the nation: 

“President Biden’s first State of the Union speech sent a clear message that the United States stands with the people and government of Ukraine in the face of an unprovoked and unjustified Russian invasion. Members on both sides of the aisle showed their support for the president’s plans to hold Russia accountable and provide aid to Ukraine. From closing our airspace to Russian planes to creating a task force to go after Russian Oligarchs’ assets, tonight President Biden showed the world that American diplomacy matters.

“As Americans continue to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the president laid out his plans to put an end to the pandemic, protect public health, and create new jobs for working families. Tonight, President Biden reminded us that our government is working to make people’s lives better. This past year Congress passed, and the President signed, the American Rescue Plan and the bipartisan infrastructure bill – laws that help working families recover from the pandemic and will help modernize our roads, bridges, and infrastructure.

“I was heartened to hear the President call for Congress to act on competition legislation, which is critical to New Mexico and the nation. This bipartisan legislation includes a provision I championed to provide billions of dollars for our National Laboratories to support cutting-edge research. This necessary legislation would help our labs in New Mexico to lead the way in modernizing our economy while improving our supply chain and addressing our reliance on foreign manufacturing. However, there is still more work to do, including lowering health care costs. I look forward to working with the president to deliver on these priorities for New Mexicans.”