Clyburn Statement on President's SOTU

Assistant Democratic Leader James E. Clyburn released the following statement on President Obama’s State of the Union address:

“Fifty years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood at the Lincoln Memorial and proclaimed ‘We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.’ Tonight President Obama stood in the well of the U.S. House of Representatives, and echoed Dr. King’s sentiment.  He took up the mantle of Dr. King in declaring, ‘It is our unfinished task to make sure that this government works on behalf of the many, and not just the few; that it encourages free enterprise, rewards individual initiative, and opens the doors of opportunity to every child across this great nation of ours.’

“I applaud his vision, and I look forward to working with the President and my colleagues in Congress to get our country on a path of opportunity through economic development, job creation and investing in education, infrastructure and innovation to move our country forward.  For too long, we have been hearing why it can’t be done.  President Obama reminded us tonight that it can be done, we just have to have the political will to do it.”