Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester expects a positive tone in President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.
“I believe he is going to say the state of our union is strong. Particularly since we’ve seen such improvements in our economy from this pandemic. But we know we still have more to do, so I envision that he will talk about lowering costs even more, and dealing with issues like price gouging,” said Blunt Rochester.
She also expects Biden will touch upon his continued efforts to make the tax code fair, and that corporations pay their fair share.
This State of the Union address comes during an election year, where the incumbent Biden faces scrutiny about his age -- and from some within his party about his leadership on the Israel-Hamas war
The address also comes during the ongoing war in Ukraine and at a time when reproductive rights are on the chopping block nationwide.
Blunt Rochester says she expects Biden to address those topics and others head on.
“And I think ultimately he may talk about saving our democracy and uniting the country. And by saving our democracy I think that includes reproductive rights and reproductive freedoms, and voting rights,” she added.
Planned Parenthood of Delaware’s new president and CEO April Thomas-Jones will be Blunt Rochester’s guest at the State of the Union address.
The Congresswoman says she will help share insights on the work that is being done and the work needs to be done in Delaware regarding reproductive rights.
It’s been nearly 2 years since Roe v Wade was struck down by the Supreme Court - opening the floodgates for a rollback on reproductive rights across the nation.
And less than a month ago, an Alabama ruling regarding frozen embryos opened up a national conversation about access to IVF treatment.
Blunt Rochester says there is movement afoot for a nationwide abortion ban, and expects the President to share his support for the enshrinement of reproductive protections in his speech.
“I think as we look at this Alabama decision we see that it has swung from our ability to make choices about pregnancy on one side to our ability to get pregnant. So I think the president will probably make that tie to our freedoms and our autonomy,” she said.
She adds there are two bills in the works to address both sides: The Women’s Health Protection Act, and the Access to Family Building Act.
Blunt Rochester hopes to see the President’s support of both bills made clear in his speech.
