Local, Ohio politicians react to State of the Union address

Congressman Warren Davidson, who represents an area of southwest Ohio that includes Butler County, said President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night was “an excellent speech” that shared his vision for the country.

That reaction came as Republicans and Democrats gave their responses the day after Trump’s third State of the Union address.

OHIO NEWS: Local, Ohio lawmakers react to President Trump’s State of the Union

“President Trump talked a lot about how well the economy is doing,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. “But I don’t measure the economy by the stock market. I measure it by people’s paychecks, the cost of healthcare, housing and education. And the reality is that for far too many people in this country, hard work isn’t paying off like it should. President Trump doesn’t understand that, and he’s used the White House to enrich people like himself.”

Ohio’s other senator, Republican Rob Portman, said Trump “outlined his plans to continue to grow our economy and strengthen our national security, building on three years of progress in improving the quality of life for the American people. As the president said (Tuesday), over the last few years – through tax reform and regulatory relief, along with new trade agreements with our three biggest trading partners Canada, Mexico and China – we’ve given the American economy a real shot in the arm. We have more work to do, and I was pleased to hear the president talk about the need for more skills training and career and technical education.”

While Republicans and Democrats debate the validity of what was said Tuesday night in the U.S. House chamber, Davidson said the country and Washington, D.C., need to push past the divisiveness.

“I think you just put the bills that we agree on the floor, and you do what we said we’d do,” said Davidson. “They’re advancing things that are so partisan that they can’t even possibly pass.”

The Democrat-controlled House has sent hundreds of bills to the U.S. Senate, but very few have been taken up and signed by Trump. Davidson said he would like to see the Generating American Income and Infrastructure Now Act, a bipartisan bill previously introduced in 2018 by Rep. Lacy Clay, D-Missouri, and two other Republicans, be re-introduced. That bill would generate income by selling off distressed U.S. Department of Agriculture assets.

He also said a bipartisan credit reporting bill was shelved in favor of a "100 percent partisan" credit reporting bill.

“It’s a total non-serious approach to trying to govern,” he said. “They could stop doing that and instead work on the same topic in a collaborative way.”

With a Senate impeachment vote looming over Tuesday’s State of the Union, Republicans in the House chamber chanted “four more years” minutes before the address. Davidson said it “did have a little bit too much of a campaign feel,” but he said Republicans were excited to support Trump and hear about his vision.

“Republicans were excited about the path forward,” he said. “And the reality is we’re not going to be able to (continue his vision) unless we get the House back (in November). A lot of what the president’s done got done because the first two years we were on offense. We had the House, the Senate and the presidency.”

Davidson said “a lot of his results have been great,” either through the Republican-controlled Congress in 2017 and 2018, or through executive orders.

“I think we’re excited trying to get back on offense and get the speaker’s gavel back,” he said.

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