WASHINGTON – Perhaps predictably, Colorado’s two U.S. senators found more to like in President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday night than U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, a Cortez Republican.
Democratic Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennet attended the speech in the House of Representatives Chamber of the U.S. Capitol. Tipton was unable to attend because of a death in his family. He watched the speech from Cortez, said Joshua Green, his communications director.
“It’s always an impressive and inspiring night,” Udall said. “I enjoyed and am really inspired by the speech and the fact that the whole country was represented.”
Bennet found the speech “upbeat and positive” and said that it reminded him how we are all in this together.
“We’re working for an economy that works for everyone, no matter where you are,” Bennet said. “(Obama) outlined the critical building blocks, like education, that are so important to the middle class.”
Udall agreed, saying the president laid out some commonsense things that will do great things for the economy.
Tipton welcomed Obama’s call for action on the economy but disagreed with unilateral action, such as the executive order the president will take to raise the minimum wage for federal contractors.
“Circumventing Congress through a series of executive fiats to entrench already-failed economic policies and further expand government is not the answer to encouraging growth,” Tipton said in a news release. “The way forward must include a willingness to come to the table and work together to advance legislation to improve the economy and foster a federal government that is responsive, transparent and accountable to the people.”
However, Udall thinks Obama sometimes does need to take such unilateral action. He mentioned that former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton at times used the same methods to pass initiatives.
“This is too important of an issue right now to not act on it,” he said.
Obama encouraged swift immigration reform during the upcoming year, which Udall and Bennet supported.
“The Senate passed a bipartisan bill to fix our broken immigration system and strengthen our economy,” Bennet said in a news release. “The House of Representatives should pass this bill so it can be signed into law.”
For the fourth consecutive year, Udall encouraged members of Congress to sit with a member of the opposite party during the speech to encourage a “more cooperative and bipartisan session of Congress.” He sat next to Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. This “mixed seating” arrangement began after the assassination attempt on former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, but participation has waned in the last couple years.
Udall’s guest for the speech was Casey Howard, his military legislative assistant and a former Army medical evacuation pilot and platoon leader.
Bennet’s guest was Vietnam veteran Wayne Telford of Grand Junction. Telford has been working to raise awareness about suicide among veterans since his daughter, U.S. Air Force Tech Sgt. Brooke Caffrey, committed suicide in 2012.
“I’m happy the president highlighted a commitment to our returning veterans.” Bennet said in a news release. “(Telford’s) story reminds us that we have more work to do, especially in identifying the warning signs of depression and suicide. His commitment to making things better in the face of his own tragedy embodies the spirit and determination that defines those who serve in our military.”
Katie Fiegenbaum is a student at American University in Washington, D.C., and an intern for The Durango Herald. Reach her at kfiegenbaum@durangoherald.com.
