Oklahoma Congressman Tom Cole says the state of the union is not strong, at least in the way President Biden described it in last week’s State of the Union address to congress. Under Biden’s state of the union, America’s energy industry has been harmed.
The Republican Representative called Biden’s remarks “misleading, partisan and unworthy of the moment speech” in a release this week. Cole said in Biden’s three years in office, the country has been plagued with crisis after crisis including record high inflation, not to mention anti-domestic energy policies that have “negatively impacted both American energy manufacturers and the ratepayers, and more.”
Below is his entire column under the headline, “Debunking President Biden’s False State of the Union Claims.”
By Congressman Tom Cole
Last week, President Biden gave his third annual State of the Union address. However, unfortunately, instead of using this opportunity to unite our nation, President Biden gave a caustic and divisive speech, in which he utilized false claims in an attempt to persuade the American people into believing America is stronger today than it was three years ago.
Now, I am going to debunk some of these claims:
Claim: “On my first day in office I introduced a comprehensive plan to…secure the border…”
President Biden made the outrageous claim that since day one in office, he has had a plan to secure the border, placing the blame for the raging illegal immigration crisis on Congressional Republicans. Now, this is just not true. Reality is, in just his first 100 days in office, President Biden took 94 executive actions, including removing Title 42 and Remain in Mexico, halting border wall construction, and reinstating Catch-and-Release, in an attempt to make it easier for immigrants to illegally enter and stay in our nation – and, with the stoke of a pen, he could reverse these actions.
Make no mistake – immigration reform legislation is not the same as border security. President Biden created this border crisis, and, in turn, he has the authority to fix it.
Claim: “My Republican friends want to put Social Security on the chopping block.”
The President has claimed time and time again that Republicans are going to take away your Social Security benefits. Let me set the record straight now – we do not want to cut Social Security. In fact, we are trying to prevent cuts that are coming in a decade from now. Although Democrats would like for you to believe the contrary, doing nothing about Social Security is not an option, and the biggest attack on Social Security actually comes from those who want to simply ignore the issue. Unlike the President, I will tell you the truth – if nothing gets done to address this issue, beneficiaries will see cuts. However, this does not mean we want to eliminate this program that is so critical to the livelihoods of retired Americans. In fact, saving Social Security is exactly what my colleagues and I are trying to do, just as President Ronald Reagan did in 1983 when Social Security faced the same risk it does today.
So, let me be clear – unlike President Biden’s overly-political Social Security cuts accusation that does nothing to prevent the very real cuts that are coming, Republicans are working to ensure Social Security remains funded in the future.
Claim: “Our economy is the envy of the world.”
The President tried to sell the successes of Bidenomics, touting high wages, low inflation, and “soaring” consumer confidence. However, the truth is that real wages are down by over two percent, inflation has risen by nearly 18 percent, and Americans are spending an extra $1019 a month compared to three years ago. This is not what a successful economic agenda looks like.
The American people who are paying more for everything from gas to groceries know the truth – this Administration’s economic policies have crushed American families.
Claim: “Creating stability…means containing the threat posed by Iran.”
I am a strong believer in prioritizing our national security, standing up to our adversaries, and exercising peace through strength on the world stage. However, President Biden’s insinuation that he is combatting the threat posed by Iran is disingenuous, when, in reality, throughout the majority of his presidency, his strategy towards Iran has been appeasement. For example, shortly after taking office, President Biden removed the Houthis from the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations. Furthermore, in another move to appease Iran, the Biden Administration gave Iran, the largest state sponsor of terrorism, $6 billion as a ransom payment, and then later admitted they had no way to control how Iran spent the money.
In conclusion, Iran, China, Russia, and radical Islamic terrorists are all stronger today because of President Biden’s alarming foreign policy decisions and displays of weakness on the world stage.
Claim: “The State of our Union is strong!”
Last week, at the end of his misleading, partisan, and unworthy of the moment speech, President Biden claimed that “the State of our Union is strong.” However, the truth is the past three years have been plagued with crisis after crisis – record high inflation, a wide-open border, an unprecedented fentanyl epidemic, alarmingly weakened national security, skyrocketing crime, anti-domestic energy policies that have negatively impacted both American energy manufacturers and the ratepayers, and more.
The American people who are bearing the brunt of his failed policies know better – thanks to the decisions of this Administration, the state of our union is, sadly, not strong, and, instead of making false political claims, it is time for President Biden to work in a bipartisan manner to turn the state of our union around.