[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 360-361]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         THE STATE OF THE UNION

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I appreciate the Senator from Missouri, Mr. 
Blunt, addressing some of the issues that the Republican majority has 
attempted to accomplish, including the advances made over the last 
year, which I think will lay a foundation for the future and for 
further successes in the coming year.
  Tonight President Obama will come to Congress to deliver his final 
State of the Union Address, which raises this question: What is the 
state of our Union? The truth is that while the strength and spirit of 
the American people remain a beacon of hope for our future, our country 
is facing a number of serious challenges. Global unrest has grown over 
the course of the President's administration, most notably with the 
rise of ISIS, one of the most brutal terrorist groups in existence.
  On President Obama's watch, we have experienced the worst economic 
recovery since the Eisenhower administration, with stagnant wages and 
millions dropping out of the labor force. American families are seeing 
their dreams for the future erode as they struggle under ever-
increasing government burdens and a lack of economic opportunity.
  Any serious discussion of the state of our Union needs to address 
these challenges and offer solutions. That is the kind of speech that I 
wish we were going to hear tonight, but unfortunately all indicators 
suggest that is not the kind of speech the President plans to give. 
Instead, the President apparently intends to take a victory lap despite 
the fact that the American people clearly don't think there is much to 
celebrate. A recent New York Times/CBS News poll found that 68 percent 
of the American people think our country is on the wrong track, and 
most Americans believe the next generation will be worse off, not 
better off.
  In a preview of the President's speech, the White House notes: ``We 
have made extraordinary progress on the path to a stronger country and 
a brighter future.'' That is not how the American people are feeling, 
and it doesn't reflect the reality of the President's administration.
  The President plans to talk about his supposed economic successes 
tonight. While our economy has recovered to a certain extent since the 
recession, it has never fully rebounded. Wage growth continues to lag. 
December marked the 77th straight month in which year-over-year hourly 
wage growth was at or below 2\1/2\ percent. Underemployment also 
continues to be a problem with millions of Americans continuing to work 
part-time jobs because they can't find full-time work. Almost 5 years 
after the recession ended, the percentage of Americans working full 
time has still not returned to prerecession levels.
  While the most commonly mentioned unemployment rate is 5 percent, the 
U-6 unemployment rate, which measures the number of both unemployed 
workers and underemployed workers, is 9.9 percent. Of the unemployed, 
those who have been unemployed for 27 weeks or more, or those 
considered long-term unemployed, make up 26 percent. Labor force 
participation remains near record lows. In short, stagnation has become 
the new normal for the economy under the Obama administration and 
economic opportunities for families have been few and far between.
  In addition to the lack of economic opportunity, families have had to 
shoulder new burdens thanks to the Obama administration. Chief among 
those burdens, of course, is ObamaCare, the President's disastrous 
health care law, which has failed to reduce the cost of health care, 
ripped away millions of Americans' preferred health care plans, forced 
families onto insurance plans they don't want and can't afford, reduced 
patients' access to doctors and hospitals, increased taxes, and wasted 
literally billions of taxpayer dollars.
  Then there are the burdensome regulations the Obama administration 
has imposed, which have made it more challenging for businesses, large 
and small, to grow and create jobs.
  The Obama Environmental Protection Agency, in particular, has done 
more than its fair share to make things difficult for Americans. During 
the course of the Obama administration, this Agency has implemented one 
damaging rule after another, from a massive national backdoor energy 
tax that would hurt poor and working families the most to a new rule 
that would subject ponds and puddles in Americans' backyards to a 
complex array of expensive and burdensome regulatory requirements.
  Again and again, I have heard from South Dakota farm and ranch 
families, homeowners and small businesses about the difficulties they 
are facing thanks to the Obama EPA's massive regulations.
  If the President's record on the economy and middle-class opportunity 
is bad, his record on foreign policy is even worse. A White House 
preview of the State of the Union touts the President's work to 
``redefine American leadership for the 21st century.'' During the 
President's last year in office the White House says: ``We can show the 
world what is possible when America truly leads.''
  Republicans couldn't agree more that America should truly lead. The 
problem is that the President's first 7 years in office have generally 
been distinguished by a lack of leadership. Back in June, former 
President and fellow Democrat Jimmy Carter described President Obama's 
successes on the world stage as ``minimal.'' He said: ``On the world 
stage, just to be as objective

[[Page 361]]

about it as I can, I can't think of many nations in the world where we 
have a better relationship now than we did when he took over.'' Again, 
that was a quote from former Democratic President Jimmy Carter. Well, 
neither can I.
  The White House claims that the President ended two wars. Yet it 
neglects to mention that since the United States withdrew from Iraq, 
large sections of the country have gone into chaos thanks to ISIS. The 
President's failure to enforce his redline in Syria when President 
Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons on his own people and the 
President's lack of a strategy to defeat ISIS have contributed to a 
massive refugee crisis with no easy solution. Meanwhile, Assad remains 
in power, and ISIS continues to thrive.
  With the terrorist attacks in Paris, ISIS officially expanded its 
theater of operations beyond the Middle East. As we witnessed in the 
case of the San Bernardino shooting, as long as ISIS continues to 
exist, its demented ideology will inspire disturbed individuals to 
commit acts of terror. The United States is in desperate need of a 
comprehensive strategy to confront the threat posed by ISIS. Yet the 
President has so far made no move to develop one.
  On another foreign policy front, the President has repeatedly touted 
his nuclear deal with Iran as one of the major foreign policy 
achievements of his Presidency. Yet the agreement he signed actually 
improves Iran's long-term prospects for developing a bomb. In a clear 
violation of U.N. restrictions, Iran tested a ballistic missile, 
demonstrating once again that it has in no way curbed its aggressive 
behavior. Elsewhere, Russian aggression has increased on the 
President's watch. North Korea recently conducted yet another nuclear 
test.
  The Obama administration has left the American people with a host of 
problems at home and abroad, but once again, it sounds like President 
Obama's State of the Union Address will fail to offer any substantial 
solutions. More than that, it sounds as if the President will largely 
ignore the problems, and that is unfortunate.
  The President is missing an opportunity to offer substantial 
solutions before turning the problems of his administration over to his 
successors. I don't want to give credence to those Obama administration 
accusations that the Republicans are all ``doom and gloom.'' As I said, 
I believe the strength and spirit of the American people mean that the 
future of America is always bright. But realizing that future requires 
understanding and developing solutions to the problems facing our 
Nation, and that is something the President has been unwilling to do.
  Republicans have worked hard over the past year to make our economy 
stronger, our government more efficient and accountable, and our Nation 
and our world safer and more secure. But there is a lot more work that 
needs to be done, and we need a partner in the White House who is 
willing to meet us half way. We hope the President will use the last 
year of his Presidency to work with us as we seek to address the 
challenges that are facing the American people.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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