WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-Westchester/Rockland), the senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement today after President Obama delivered his State of the Union address to a Joint Session of Congress:

“Tonight the President provided solutions to our most pressing challenges: creating jobs, growing our economy, and ensuring that every American who works hard and plays by the rules has the opportunity to succeed.

“Congress should take concrete steps to achieve these goals. Raising the federal minimum wage would increase the pay of 30 million Americans who struggle to make ends meet. Restoring critical unemployment benefits to the 1.6 million Americans who have been left out in the cold this winter – including more than 5,000 job seekers in Westchester and Rockland Counties – and ensuring that women get equal pay for equal work would also improve the economic security of millions of Americans.

“Congress must continue working in the bipartisan spirit with which we passed the recent appropriations bills to rebuild a strong, thriving middle class, which is essential to a strong, prosperous America.”

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