[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 1336]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     STRENGTHENING THE MIDDLE CLASS

  (Mr. CICILLINE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. CICILLINE. Madam Speaker, last night President Obama outlined a 
bold vision for his second term in office and spoke about the number 
one issue facing our country: jobs. The President understands that if 
we want to get our country back on the right track, we have to invest 
in those areas that are essential to growing our economy and 
strengthening the middle class.
  With families all across America, and particularly in my home State 
of Rhode Island facing tremendous challenges, it's critical that our 
friends on the other side of the aisle put aside partisan gamesmanship 
and start working together on the commonsense goals that President 
Obama outlined: reinvigorating manufacturing; investing in our 
infrastructure; making education a priority; and developing new sources 
of clean energy, as well as a long-term strategy to deal with our debt.
  It's true that Republicans and Democrats have a choice. We can either 
work to find common ground and move our country forward as a whole, or 
we can continue the partisan fighting that has created gridlock in 
Washington.
  I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to find common ground 
and real solutions so we can put our country back to work and address 
the serious challenges facing our Nation.

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