Whitmer touts right-to-work repeal, UAW as partner at convention

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer got a chance Tuesday to tout the recent repeal of right-to-work legislation and her support for the UAW during the second day of the union’s special bargaining convention in Detroit.

After telling the hundreds of delegates gathered at Huntington Place, formerly Cobo Center, that she had signed the bills Friday on right-to-work and restoring prevailing wage rules, she told them it was a “BFD” as the delegates answered with loud applause. That means it’s a big deal though the “F” can’t be spelled out here. (The governor urged those in the crowd to ask a union brother or sister to explain if they weren't clear on the concept.)

More:Fain calls it 'new day in the UAW' on first day of convention

“That makes Michigan the first state to repeal the so-called right-to-work law since (the 1940s),” Whitmer said.

Whitmer said it took a lot of work and advocacy to get to this point, but that more effort is needed on union and worker issues.

“I’m damn proud of the work that we had to do, but we cannot for one second take our foot off the accelerator. We cannot assume it is over and things are just going to be sunny and bright for anyone who is working hard in this state. We’ve got to continue to work for these rights,” she said.

Whitmer said Michigan would be a place where workers thrive and businesses can succeed. The state, she said, would be a place where people want to move for solid infrastructure and a good quality of life.

She said the state would “fight like hell” to bring battery-electric vehicle and semiconductor plants to Michigan, an answer to critics who have questioned the administration’s work to secure more EV-related investments during a massive transformation of the auto industry.

More:UAW to bring militant negotiations like Detroit Three haven't seen in years, experts say

“Together we put the world on notice that Michigan was, is and always will be the beating heart of the auto industry,” Whitmer said, noting that the UAW is the center of much of this work.

“I’m here because the UAW has been a phenomenal partner to me, and I will continue so long as I’m in office to be a phenomenal partner to you, too.”

Newly elected UAW President Shawn Fain called the governor “our friend, our ally and our sister,” after recounting how the governor, a Democrat, had been on hand when the right-to-work legislation was pushed forward under the administration of Republican Gov. Rick Snyder.

“I’ll never forget her standing there with us, and I think it’s awesome to stand here 10 years later and now she’s our governor,” said Fain, who was sworn in to office on Sunday following a divisive election.

More:UAW, Stellantis execs play blame game as automaker cuts jobs to make up for EV costs

Whitmer’s speech provided a rousing moment during the second day of the convention, but she would have had serious competition for the most fiery speech, with UAW Vice President Rich Boyer, the director of the union’s Stellantis department, clearly animated after a video was shown highlighting the impact of the idling of Stellantis’ Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois.

The automaker announced its decision in December, attributing it to the high cost of the transition to electric vehicles. The plant, which produced the Jeep Cherokee SUV, employed more than 1,200 workers as of December, although that’s not a full picture of the associated jobs there or the reductions in force that had happened previously.

Boyer, echoing a message that Fain has expressed, talked about how the membership needs to “start punching back” and “this could be you.”

More:Fain declares victory in UAW presidential election; Curry sets swearing-in for Sunday

He told members to imagine as an example the spillover effect if Stellantis stopped producing the Jeep Gladiator in Toledo, how it would affect a whole range of other plants. That’s not something the company has actually suggested, but Boyer was using it to make a point that would resonate with many delegates.

“We have to stand together,” he said.

The convention is scheduled to wrap up Wednesday.

One other note from the convention, where the union sets out its bargaining priorities for upcoming contract talks with Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, was the news that Fain's vehicle was broken into Monday night, with a window smashed and a bag and laptop taken near a bar in Detroit where convention attendees had gathered. Boyer mentioned the break-in, with additional details confirmed by a spokesman for Fain.

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber.

Act 10 at 10: Four takeaways from the Scott Walker legislation that ...

MADISON - Act 10, the Scott Walker-era law that sparked massive protests at the state Capitol, is turning 10. Here's a look at how the law limiting collective bargaining for most public workers has played out.

FOR SUBSCRIBERS:The day Scott Walker 'dropped the bomb': 10 years later, Act 10 maintains a firm grip on Wisconsin government

Act 10 delivered a blow to unions

The measure cut public workers' paychecks and siphoned off most of the strength of their unions.

Public workers earning $50,000 a year saw their take-home pay shrink by about 8.5% because they had to pay more for their benefits, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau at the time.

Act 10 ended the ability of public-sector unions to negotiate over any issues other than raises, and those raises were capped at the rate of inflation. In addition, unions were required to hold annual elections to maintain their ability to negotiate for those raises. For those elections, they must win a majority of all eligible members, not just those who cast votes.

Four years after Act 10 passed, Republicans approved a right-to-work law that limited the power of private-sector unions. Between 2010 and 2019, Wisconsin lost about 137,000 union members, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Union members in 2010 made up more than 14% of Wisconsin's workforce but by 2019 their share fell to about 8%.

Passing Act 10 wasn't easy

Now part of Republican orthodoxy, Act 10 wasn't guaranteed to pass when it was first unveiled. Former Gov. Scott Walker, who was the architect of the plan, noted some lawmakers were more willing to embrace it than others.

"When I went in (the Assembly Republican caucus) and told them what we were going to do, it was like a scene out of ‘Braveheart.’ They wanted to lift me up on their shoulders and go out to battle," Walker said in a recent interview. "When I went to the Senate caucus … it was like I had told them their puppy had died. A number of them were not keen on making that kind of dramatic change."

Before Republican senators could settle on what to do, their Democratic colleagues left the state. That stymied the Senate because the state constitution requires 20 senators to be present to consider certain types of legislation and the Republicans had 19 seats.

In the midst of it all, massive protests sprung up, with Act 10's opponents occupying the Capitol through the night for long stretches. With the Senate sidelined, the Assembly debated the measure for 61 hours.

Democrats and Republicans alike said they weren't sure what would happen during that period. Attempts at compromise failed and after three weeks Senate Republicans modified the legislation so they could pass it without any Democrats having to be there.

Walker signed Act 10 on March 11, 2011.

Wisconsin's divisions in 2011 signaled where America was headed

Act 10 divided Wisconsin — much as America is divided today.

The dispute over the law drove wedges between friends and disrupted family gatherings. Bartenders told their patrons to steer away from political talk.

Before long, the rest of the country was in a similar place, with Americans tuning into news feeds and internet communities that echo only what they want to hear.

Act 10 bolstered some political careers and ended others

Act 10 launched an unusual wave of recall elections. Walker became the first governor in U.S. history to survive a recall challenge. Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch became the first lieutenant governor to face one, as well as the first to survive one.

Thirteen state senators faced recalls over Act 10 — 10 Republicans and three Democrats. Most incumbents won, but Democrats managed to unseat three Republicans. That was enough to give them control of the Senate in the summer of 2012, but the victory came when the Legislature was out of session and was short-lived. Republicans took back the majority that fall.

The attention from Act 10 made Walker a national figure, giving him a chance to launch a bid for the presidency. For weeks, he topped polls among conservatives, but he quickly abandoned his campaign after Donald Trump's popularity among Republicans took off.

Contact Patrick Marley at patrick.marley@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @patrickdmarley.

Anonymous donations spark $1.1 million common wage ad war

Tony Cook

tony.cook@indystar.com

It’s pretty clear who financed most of the $1.1 million advertising war over the repeal of Indiana’s common wage law — two major unions.

What’s less clear is who put up $400,000 to fight them.

An Indianapolis Star review of spending on the issue found that ads advocating repeal of the law — which governs wages on publicly funded construction projects — were funded primarily through a group whose donors are a secret.

The records show the advertising blitz began after a group with close ties to House Speaker Brian Bosma, the Indiana Opportunity Fund, began purchasing $357,000 in air time on 14 stations in six cities across the state. The group is registered with the IRS as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, which means it is not required to disclose its donors.

Gov. Mike Pence, who signed the repeal into law on Wednesday, also took the unusual step of spending $50,000 of his own campaign cash to advocate for repeal.

Those purchases essentially set off an advertising arms race with two of the state’s largest unions, which ultimately outspent repeal supporters by a margin of nearly 2-1.

The Star gleaned details about the advertising purchases from hundreds of pages of public records that the Federal Communications Commission requires television stations to keep on political commercials.

The records show that the Indiana Opportunity Fund’s purchases started in late February, not long after Bosma, R-Indianapolis, gave a surprise green light to the legislation.

The group is not required to disclose its donors and three people associated with it did not respond to interview requests from The Star.

Jim Bopp, a Republican attorney from Terre Haute who led the successful legal fight before the U.S. Supreme Court to to allow unrestricted outside spending on campaigns, started the Indiana Opportunity Fund in 2011 to advocate passage of Indiana’s right-to-work law.

After Bosma indicated his plans to push common wage repeal this session, the fund was re-activated.

FCC filings list the organization’s president as William Bock III, one of Bosma’s law partners at Downtown law firm Kroger Gardis & Regas and a former House parliamentarian.

Records show the group purchased its ads through Mark It Red, a campaign consulting firm led by Mike Gentry, the political operative who, as the top staffer for Bosma’s House Republican Campaign Committee, helped the GOP win back the Indiana House after years of Democrat control.

Bosma did not respond to messages seeking comments for this story.

The Indiana Opportunity Fund’s activity prompted two unions — the International Union of Operating Engineers and the Laborers International Union — to purchase their own advertisements opposing the repeal.

Together, the two unions spent $692,000, including two 30-second spots during the Final Four regional finals that cost $8,000 apiece on WTTV-Channel 4 in Indianapolis. Most of the purchases mirrored those of the Opportunity Fund.

Despite that outlay, organized labor could not beat back the effort by Pence and leaders of the Republican-controlled legislature to repeal the law, which allows local boards to set wages — often union wages — for construction workers on publicly financed projects.

Nor did thousands of construction workers and contractors who flooded the Statehouse lawn last month to rally against the law’s repeal. The scene echoed those from the successful effort several years ago to make Indiana a “right-to-work” state.

David Frye, business manager for the Indiana Laborers District Council, said he saw Indiana Opportunity Fund’s commercials as an effort to put pressure on Republicans in the Senate.

In that chamber, President Pro Tempore David Long, R-Fort Wayne, assigned the issue to a tax and fiscal committee rather than the labor committee, where it’s chances were less clear. The Senate ultimately approved the measure on a narrow 27-22 vote.

Frye said the unknown financial interests behind the Indiana Opportunity Fund and its influence should concern Hoosiers.

The advertising spending here is in many ways part of a larger national battle over the issue. Recently elected GOP majorities in West Virginia and Nevada have repealed similar laws, and Illinois’ new Republican governor, Bruce Rauner, has called for similar action.

Supporters of the common wage, or prevailing wage as it is often known in other states, say it ensures quality work and helps working families earn higher paychecks.

“This repeal will lower middle class wages in the state of Indiana,” Frye said. “It will degrade the quality of work that is done because there will be a good chance it won’t be skilled labor.”

But oppponents of the common wage say it artificially inflates pay scales for public projects, costing taxpayers extra money.

“Wages on public projects should be set by the marketplace and not by government bureaucracy,” Pence said in signing House Bill 1019 on Wednesday. “By repealing the common construction wage, our state is putting hard-working taxpayers first, lessening the burden on cash-strapped local governments and schools, and opening doors of opportunity for small businesses across our state.”

Call Star reporter Tony Cook at (317) 444-6081. Follow him on Twitter: @indystartony.

Right-to-work is the law in Mich., but it's not over

Paul Egan and Kathleen Gray, Detroit Free Press

Governor announced it was on the agenda Dec. 4; a week later he signed measures into law

Laws go into effect 90 days after signing, around April 1

Recall petitions against state senators can start now; July 1 is date for House members

LANSING, Mich. — In the blink of an eye, Michigan became the 24th right-to-work state Tuesday after the state House rushed through legislation and Gov. Rick Snyder immediately signed it, capping a day of charged emotions, huge crowds and mostly peaceful demonstrations.

The speed with which the controversial legislation became law left organized labor and Democrats reeling. There is talk of legal challenges and recall efforts, but Democrats and labor leaders say they are mostly focused on 2014, when they hope to elect lawmakers and a governor who will repeal the law.

"This is a major day in Michigan's history," Snyder told reporters late Tuesday during a news conference, shortly after signing two right-to-work bills approved Tuesday by the state House and Thursday by the Senate.

The news of the signing was a bit of a surprise, and relayed rather matter-of-factly by the governor. He said he saw how divisive the issue was and noted the large crowds of protesters outside the Capitol, saying he didn't see a need for a public signing or ceremony. Instead, he said, it was just time to take a position and move forward.

"I don't view this as anti-labor. I view this as pro-worker," Snyder said.

Here for good?

Because the new law is designed to include a $1 million appropriation to cover implementation, it can't be repealed by voter initiative.

But the right-to-work law wasn't what many of the opponents said they were interested in recalling Tuesday.

"The sleeping tiger is awake now," Michigan AFL-CIO President Karla Swift said. "We have 2014 as a goal to shift out and win justice."

An estimated 12,500 demonstrators — 10,000 on the Capitol grounds and 2,500 more inside the building — converged on Michigan's Capitol, waving signs, hoisting inflatable rats mocking Snyder, and stomping their feet and shouting their voices hoarse in the Capitol Rotunda.

When their actions had no effect on the Legislature, demonstrators turned their focus to Snyder and briefly massed outside his offices across from the Capitol, accusing him of a double-cross because the Republican originally said he would not pursue the anti-union legislation.

Michigan, following Midwest neighbor Indiana into right-to-work status, garnered huge national and international attention largely because of the state's history as a birthplace of the UAW and the location of the first sit-down strikes of the 1930s.

The process began Dec. 4, when Snyder announced publicly that the controversial issue was "on the agenda" here. By Thursday, Snyder, who since taking office in January 2011 had described right-to-work as too divisive and not on his agenda, bowed to pressure from conservative members of his party and announced that the process was moving forward. Just five days later, the change was law, without a committee hearing and with little debate in the Legislature.

The law, which makes it illegal to require financial support of a union as a condition of employment, is expected to deal a significant blow to the finances and political clout of organized labor. Snyder and other Republicans who back the law say unions simply will have to do a better job of showing value to members for the dues they pay since they no longer will have a captive clientele.

Not giving up

Backers of organized labor were adamant that while Tuesday was a major setback for their cause, it was not the death knell.

"Have you ever seen a squirrel get run over and get back up?" asked Joel Bullock Sr., 66, of Detroit, a retired Ford worker from UAW Local 600 who was at the Capitol on Tuesday. "It's amazing, isn't it?

"You don't have to lay down and roll over just because you take a licking," he said. "This is coming up again. It won't be done after today."

Proponents, such as Patrick Wright, a senior legal analyst with the conservative Mackinac Center, said he's confident that the change will help Michigan's still-recovering economy.

"We like to think this is bigger than unions," Wright said. "It's going to make this place a better choice for businesses to grow and expand," he said.

About 700,000 Michigan residents, less than 20% of the state work force, are union members.

The fallout

The right-to-work law is expected to take effect around April 1 and will cover all public and private employees in the state with the exception of police and firefighters, who were excluded intentionally.

The law won't affect existing contracts, only contracts that take effect or are renewed after the law's effective date, said Robert Sikkel, a Grand Rapids, Mich., lawyer specializing in employment issues.

Until existing contracts expire, all employees covered in union contracts at governments and businesses with closed shops will have to continue to pay union dues, or at least the union agency fee related to the cost of representation, Sikkel said.

But once those contracts expire, employees will be free to decide whether they want to pay anything to the unions and still will be covered by union-negotiated contracts, whether they pay or not, he said.

The state House voted 58-51 to pass the right-to-work bill for public employees, and 58-52 on a bill for private-sector workers.

All the Democrats in the House and six Republicans voted no. But it wasn't enough to defeat the legislation.

The debate over the two bills lasted nearly three hours but were voted on without any committee hearings or input from the public, although audience members in the gallery overlooking the House chamber began chanting, "Shame on you," as soon as the bills passed.

Contributing: Lori Higgins, David Jesse and Megha Satyanarayana, Detroit Free Press

What's next on right-to-work?

• The law takes effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns. That will put the effective date around April 1. The law won't affect existing union contracts.

• Legal action can be taken on several grounds, including whether the $1 million appropriation attached to the law is proper and whether the carve-out of police and firefighters is a violation of equal protection clauses in the Constitution.

• The right-to-work bills cannot be repealed in a statewide vote because of the appropriation. However, opponents can mount a drive to put a constitutional amendment on the 2014 statewide ballot, which could overturn the right-to-work bill.

• Recall campaigns against state senators who supported the legislation can begin immediately. But recalls against House members cannot begin until July 1 when they reach the six-month mark in their 2013-14 terms.

• Campaigns will begin quickly to try to defeat Gov. Rick Snyder and enough Republicans in the state House and Senate, so Democrats can regain control of the majority and vote to overturn the laws.

Abortion rights were on the ballot in these states. Here's what voters ...

Washington CNN —

Voters in key states on Tuesday made their support for abortion rights clear, affirming a months-long push by Democrats to act on a number of ballot measures in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

Several states moved to enshrine abortion protections in their constitutions and others rejected proposals to limit abortion access or criminalize doctors in some cases. Democratic lawmakers and organizers cast the midterm elections as a referendum on Republican efforts to limit women’s choices, and the notable electoral reaction could serve as a warning sign for future GOP efforts to restrict the procedure at the state-level.

About 27% of voters cited abortion as the issue most important to them, according to the preliminary results of the national and state exit polls conducted for CNN and other news networks by Edison Research. The results also showed that when it comes to the issue, roughly half of voters said they trusted Democratic candidates, compared with more than 4 in 10 voters who said they trusted Republican candidates.

“This fall, Roe is on the ballot,” President Joe Biden declared in a defiant speech from the White House just hours after the Supreme Court’s ruling earlier this year.

While CNN projected some anti-abortion Republicans will win their races, voters in five states moved to affirm abortion rights.

Here’s a running list of what voters decided on Election Day.

Montana rejects abortion measure that would allow criminal penalties on health care providers

Voters in Montana rejected on Tuesday proposed legislation that would have imposed criminal penalties on health care providers who do not act to preserve the life of infants born during the course of an abortion, CNN projects.

LR-131, if adopted, would have provided that an infant “born alive” – defined as an infant “at any stage of development” who breathes, has a beating heart or definite movement of voluntary muscles after expulsion or extraction – be treated as a legal person entitled to medical treatment.

A health care provider who violated the proposed law would have been guilty of a felony and could have faced up to 20 years in state prison and/or a fine of up to $50,000. It would have also mandated that health care providers and clinics report “a failure to comply with the requirements” to law enforcement.

Montana currently prohibits abortions past viability – “the ability of a fetus to live outside the mother’s womb” – except to save the life or health of the woman.

Last year, the state’s Republican-led legislature passed the bill that put the referendum on the ballot.

Backers of the measure said such a law was necessary to protect infants born during an abortion attempt, while opponents said the bill wasn’t needed because there are laws in place that require care to be given.

Hillary-Anne Crosby, the campaign coordinator and communications lead for Compassion for Montana Families, previously said LR-131 “zeroes in on families that are having complications in the labor and delivery room, such as lethal fetal abnormalities.”

“It’s not uncommon for families to make the decision to induce labor so that they can hold their infant for a few minutes, maybe have family come in and be able to meet their new family member for the few moments that they are alive, and LR-131 throws a wrench in that being a viable option to them without the health care workers facing a felony,” she previously told CNN.

Kentucky rejects proposal that would have further restricted abortion rights

Kentucky voters on Tuesday rejected a proposal to amend the state’s constitution to say that it does not “secure or protect a right” to abortion or the funding of abortion, CNN projects.

The ballot question voters faced read: “Are you in favor of amending the Constitution of Kentucky by creating a new Section of the Constitution to be numbered Section 26A to state as follows: To protect human life, nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion?”

Kentucky’s “trigger law,” which bans most abortions at all stages of pregnancy, and a law banning abortion after roughly six weeks of pregnancy have been allowed to be enforced temporarily while a lawsuit challenging the laws continues.

Kentucky Right to Life executive director Addia Wuchner, who chairs the Yes for Life Alliance, which supported Amendment 2, previously said voting “yes” would “ensure there’s no false interpretation of the constitution.”

Without the amendment, “instead of the lawmakers who duly reflect the people’s will, we would end up with the abortion industry taking each law back into court,” Wuchner said.

Tamarra Wieder, the Kentucky state director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, had said passing the amendment would “open the door to more attacks on abortion access,” but rejecting it would allow abortion rights advocates to “continue to fight back” against the six-week ban and the trigger ban.

If adopted, the measure would have gone into effect immediately once the results of the election are certified by the State Board of Elections.

Michigan enshrines abortion rights

Michigan voters on Tuesday voted to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s constitution, a move that will help block a decades-old abortion ban from taking effect, CNN projects.

The passage of ballot Proposal 3 amends the Michigan constitution to establish an “individual right to reproductive freedom, including right to make and carry out all decisions about pregnancy.”

Michigan has a 1931 law that essentially bans abortion in the state, but that law is being blocked by the courts. The passage of the ballot proposal helps prevent the ban from taking effect.

The amendment allows the state to regulate abortion after fetal viability, except if needed to protect a patient’s life or physical or mental health. It also bars the state from prosecuting an individual for having an abortion or miscarriage or from prosecuting someone who assists a pregnant person in “exercising rights established by this amendment.”

The proposal had to overcome legal challenges to be included on the ballot, with the Michigan Supreme Court ordering officials in September to include the question on ballots in a 5-2 ruling.

“We are energized and motivated now more than ever to restore the protections that were lost under Roe,” Darci McConnell, a spokesperson for Reproductive Freedom for All, a group backing the effort, said in a statement after the ruling.

Michigan Republicans had blasted the court’s decision, along with another on a voting rights ballot proposal. “Despite the court ruling, these measures remain too extreme for Michigan, and we are certain they will be handily defeated at the ballot box in November,” Elizabeth Giannone, deputy communications director for the state party, predicted in a statement earlier this year.

California voters put abortion rights in state constitution

The California Constitution will protect the right to an abortion after residents on Tuesday passed a ballot initiative to enshrine the right in the state’s governing document, CNN projects.

Currently, the state constitution guarantees a right to privacy, which the California Supreme Court has ruled includes the right to have an abortion.

In May, following the leak of the US Supreme Court’s draft opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade, California Democratic leaders Gov. Gavin Newsom, state Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins and state Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon said in a statement that they would propose an amendment “so that there is no doubt as to the right to abortion in this state.”

The Democratic-controlled state legislature in June approved putting the amendment on the November ballot.

“Proposition 1 ensures that no matter what the future legislature looks like, what the future governor looks like, that people in California have a constitutional protection that explicitly ensures the state won’t interfere with their right to reproductive freedom,” Jodi Hicks, the head of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California and co-chair of the Yes on Prop 1 campaign, previously told CNN.

The California Family Council had said the proposed amendment is an “extreme and costly proposal that does nothing to advance women’s health.” And the California Catholic Conference, which opposes Proposition 1, called it a “misleading ballot measure that allows unlimited late-term abortions – for any reason, at any time, even moments before birth, paid for by tax dollars.”

The Yes on Prop 1 campaign previously said the proposal would not change “existing state constitutional protections and law, which provide for the right to choose an abortion prior to viability or to protect the pregnant person’s life or health.”

The measure goes into effect the fifth day after the vote is certified.

Vermont voters back abortion rights

Voters in Vermont on Tuesday approved an amendment to the state’s constitution that abortion rights supporters say will protect “every person’s right to make their own reproductive decisions,” including about pregnancies, abortion and birth control, CNN projects.

The Vermont Constitution will now be amended to read: “That an individual’s right to personal reproductive autonomy is central to the liberty and dignity to determine one’s own life course and shall not be denied or infringed unless justified by a compelling State interest achieved by the least restrictive means.”

Abortion is currently legal at all stages of pregnancy in Vermont. The proposed amendment was first brought by the Vermont Legislature in 2019.

Vermont for Reproductive Liberty Ballot Committee, the coalition that backed Article 22, had previously said state-level protections “are vital to safeguarding access” now that the US Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade.

“It would mean that abortion access has been codified in the state constitution, and really the most important part of that is that it’s protected long-term, and it means that access is going to be there, no matter what our politicians do,” Sam Donnelly, the campaign manager for the coalition, previously told CNN.

Both supporters and opponents of Article 22 have said its adoption means that Vermont lawmakers will be unable to pass any limitations or regulations on abortion in the future because it would then be deemed unconstitutional.

Mary Beerworth, the executive director of the Vermont Right to Life Committee, which opposes the amendment, had said the proposal goes “way, way further” than codifying abortion rights into the state constitution.

“It will be about a vast range of anything that pertains to your personal reproductive autonomy, from surrogacy, three-parent embryo, designer babies, minors possibly accessing the hormone blockers for transgender surgery without their parents’ knowledge or consent,” she previously told CNN. “It’s opening a whole new world here if it passes.”

This headline and story have been updated with additional developments.

Veronica Stracqualursi Devan Cole Paul Leblanc

Florida's red flag law, championed by Republicans, is taking guns ...

Tampa, Florida CNN —

Twice a week from her courtroom, Florida 13th Circuit Court Judge Denise Pomponio decides who in Hillsborough County can no longer be trusted with a gun.

In just the last two months, she has taken away the firearm privileges of dozens of people, including a dad accused of threatening to “shoot everyone” at his son’s school, a woman who police say attempted suicide and then accidentally shot her boyfriend during a struggle for her revolver, a husband who allegedly fired multiple rounds in the street to “blow off steam” after losing a family member, a bullied 13-year-old witnesses overheard saying, “If all of 8th grade is missing tomorrow you will know why,” and a mother arrested for brandishing a handgun at another mom after a school bus incident between their daughters.

This is Florida’s “red flag” law in action. Passed in the wake of the horrific 2018 mass shooting at a Parkland high school, the state law provides police a path to ask a judge to temporarily bar dangerous individuals from possessing or purchasing a firearm. Since its creation, Florida judges have acted more than 8,000 times to keep guns out of the hands of people authorities deemed a risk to themselves or others, according to data maintained by the Office of the State Courts Administrator.

On Tuesday, Pomponio added another one to the list: A man accused of pointing two guns at his stepfather.

“He was enjoying the whole thing,” the stepfather told the courtroom. His stepson’s wife even filmed the encounter, he said. “He said he wanted to eff me up.” One of the guns was later found in the bed of the stepson’s 11-year-old brother, a sheriff’s deputy told the courtroom.

In the aftermath of recent massacres in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, those looking to change the country’s gun laws see in Florida a blueprint to move forward – not only because leaders moved to restrict firearms, but because it emerged out of a Republican stronghold unofficially known as the “Gunshine State.”

“The Florida law is a good law, and it’s a signal of what’s possible,” Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, one of the most vocal advocates in Congress for gun control, said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”

In Florida, a red flag policy, also known as risk protection orders, was one piece of a sprawling gun reform package that then-Gov. Rick Scott signed into law just three weeks after a teenage gunman killed 17 people inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. It included $400 million in new spending for priorities like school security and mental health resources, and allowed trained school staff to carry firearms for the first time. Republican lawmakers also agreed to raise the age to own a gun to 21 and implemented a three-day waiting period to purchase most rifles.

“I knew the time for thoughts and prayers, although necessary, was not enough,” said Bill Galvano, a Republican and the former state senator who sponsored the legislation.

Galvano told CNN he began drafting the bill at his kitchen table after a tour of the carnage in Parkland. He incorporated ideas he had picked up from interviewing teachers and staff at the school. He was intent on including some gun safety reforms and focused on what he thought could pass. He was still learning how red flag laws worked when it was added to the draft.

Looking at the data on the people who had guns taken away in Florida, Galvano says, “You have to believe that makes a difference.”

Research suggests red flags have made a difference where they’ve been implemented. One analysis of Connecticut’s red flag law, in place since 1999, found that for every 10 to 20 guns removed by a risk protection order led to one averted suicide. Another study found intimate partner homicides dropped in states where authorities can prohibit people convicted of “nonspecific violent misdemeanors” from possessing firearms.

The National Rifle Association and its Florida lobbyist, Marion Hammer, fiercely opposed the 2018 gun safety legislation. The organization’s influential scorecards loomed over the head of most Republican lawmakers. Hammer, a towering figure in Florida politics for decades, called GOP supporters “turncoat Republicans” and the organization urged its members to pressure lawmakers into abandoning the legislation. Galvano acknowledged that some of his colleagues were concerned the NRA would mount primary challenges against them in the coming elections.

Former state Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Democrat who attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas, recounted the headwinds they faced with Republicans in power and the NRA throwing arounds its weight.

“Yet, we rolled the NRA,” Moskowitz said, adding: “Not one Republican who voted for that bill in Florida has paid a political price for protecting kids and doing the right thing.”

The NRA responded by docking the scorecards of anyone who voted for the bill, and it knocked Scott from an A+ to a C. The organization also filed a lawsuit against the state over the new legislation. The case remains in court under appeal.

Hammer did not respond to an email for comment.

Still, the law has survived as the legislature has grown more conservative and through the first term of Gov. Ron DeSantis. As a candidate in 2018, DeSantis said he opposed the gun restrictions in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Act, telling one Florida newspaper he would have vetoed it.

DeSantis has not publicly commented on the shooting in Uvalde and his office did not respond when asked if the governor supports Florida’s red flag law. He recently promised Florida would join other states that no longer require training or a permit to carry a firearm in public, like Texas.

Republicans lukewarm

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell previously told CNN he has encouraged Texas Sen. John Cornyn to work with Murphy on a middle-ground solution in response to the massacre inside the Uvalde elementary school.

However, support for adopting risk protection orders like Florida’s appeared tepid as senators headed into the Memorial Day recess.

Even Scott, who once called Florida’s response to the Parkland massacre “an example to the entire country that government can and must move fast,” now seems uncertain about a national risk protection policy. Scott, elected in 2018 to the US Senate, told The Washington Post: “It ought to be done at the state level.”

Meanwhile, opponents of red flag laws have grown increasingly vocal as gun reform advocates hone in on the proposal.

“What you’re essentially trying to do with the red flag law is enforce the law before the law has been broken. And it’s a really difficult thing to do, it’s difficult to assess whether somebody is a threat,” said Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Republican from Texas. “Now if they are such a threat that they’re threatening somebody with a weapon already, well, then they’ve already broken the law. So why do you need this other law?”

In an interview with CNN, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd defended Florida’s red flag law against Crenshaw’s characterization. Polk is a conservative county between Tampa and Orlando that former President Donald Trump won in 2020 by 14 points, and it is also the county that has issued more risk protection orders than any other in the state.

“Let me tell Rep. Crenshaw, if that were so, then Florida, which is dominated by conservatives, the Republicans wouldn’t have passed (risk protection orders),” Judd said.

Judd – who simultaneously describes himself as a law-and-order sheriff and a “Second Amendment guy” – defined a risk protection order as a “cooling off period” for people who have displayed dangerous behaviors. Some are experiencing a mental health episode or expressed a desire to hurt themselves. Others have made threats that may not rise to an arrest, or they are charged with a crime that won’t result in a loss of gun charges. The risk protection orders, he said, allows law enforcement to focus on prevention instead of reacting to an active shooter when “it’s too late.”

In a Polk courtroom last week, a young woman described her boyfriend putting a loaded gun to his head in front of her and his mother. In another case, a prosecutor told the judge that a woman named Carol “threatened to burn down her house and shoot any responders that would get there.” In both instances, the judge took away their ability to have a firearm.

David Carmichael, an attorney who represents local police departments in Polk County in these cases, says in his experience, about half of the people facing risk protection orders willingly give up their right to a weapon without having to go through a hearing.

“They don’t have an objection,” he said. “They say, ‘I’m in a bad place. I fully understand it’s a good idea.’ I expected more people to aggressively defend themselves.”

Risk protection orders

In Florida, orders last for one year, and can be extended for another 12 months. At the time of the shooting in Uvalde, there were 2,845 people under risk protection orders in Florida, according to the state Department of Law Enforcement.

Judges may require someone to undergo a mental health or substance abuse treatment before the order is lifted. However, unless convicted of a felony, most people are likely to get their firearms returned after a year.

Tampa city attorney Michael Schmid described an individual under the influence of a drug who was acting strange in public and making people uncomfortable. Police confronted him and found guns in every part of his car. They later searched his home and found an arsenal of 100 guns “if not more,” Schmid said, with some hidden in stuffed animals and a cat scratch post. A sign in the house said, “If they ever come in my house, I’m not going easy.”

“I hope he accomplished something during the cooling off period and having him evaluated helped,” Schmid said. “But at the end of the day, he will get his guns back.”

As it is, some activists don’t see red flag laws as going far enough to curb gun violence. Many Democrats unsuccessfully pushed for the 2018 legislation to include a ban on the AR-15, the weapon used in the vast majority of mass shootings, and other semiautomatic long guns.

In a news conference with Florida Democrats in response to the Uvalde tragedy, state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith of Orlando noted some states allow loved ones and family members to petition the courts for a risk protection order. Those are the people “who know the person best,” he said. Florida limits petitions to law enforcement.

“That’s why it’s important in Florida that we expand on the good move we made in enacting the red flag law in the first place, to make sure we can continue to prevent these instances of gun violence,” Smith said.

Moskowitz, now running to represent Parkland in the US House of Representatives, said moving the ball 20 yards is still a victory. “And you come back and you move the ball another 20 yards.”

Galvano said Florida was able to act because the legislation “had aspects that both parties wanted and liked and aspects that both parties did not support.”

“Look at the politics and understand we are a conservative state,” Galvano said. “We’re red by all accounts. And we were still able to make some reforms that were not traditional.”

‘It doesn’t have to be highly effective to have an effect’

Tony Montalto’s daughter Gina was killed inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, 2018. Within days of the massacre, he and other Parkland parents became a unified force in pressuring Florida lawmakers to take meaningful action.

Montalto, as president of Stand with Parkland, has spent the last four years urging more states to follow Florida’s lead in hopes no parents would have to experience his pain. There are 19 states plus the District of Columbia with red flag laws, and 14 were passed after Parkland.

It’s a legacy that makes Montalto proud, but makes it all the more difficult to watch a similar tragedy unfold in Texas.

“They would’ve been a lot safer had they taken advantage of simple things, such as red flags that we passed in Florida. This is simple stuff that keeps the majority of people safe,” Montalto said. “We heard extremists say this was a gun grab and all these bad things would happen. But the sky has not fallen. People still own guns. People still hunt. People still protect themselves. And yet, thousands of people in Florida have had their guns taken away to protect the majority of people.”

“We had President Trump support red flag laws. We’ve seen President Biden support red flag laws. How come Congress has not acted?”

Shannon Frattaroli, a professor in the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, is reviewing risk protection cases in six states, including Florida. Her research has found hundreds of examples of police using red flag laws to remove weapons from people who have threatened mass violence.

“If even 1% of the orders that are issued in response to a threat of mass violence makes a difference, that’s pretty powerful,” Frattaroli said. “It doesn’t have to be highly effective to have an effect.”

Steve Contorno Leyla Santiago Denise Royal

'Everything is on the table' for collective bargaining debate in Iowa

Jason Noble

jnoble2@dmreg.com

Big changes to state and local government workers' benefits, disciplinary procedures and the way they negotiate their employment contracts may be coming to Iowa.

Republican lawmakers, newly empowered and emboldened after last November's election, are making clear they intend to rewrite the state’s collective bargaining law, sparking what could be one of the fiercest battles of the legislative session that opens next Monday.

“Everything is on the table, I’ll put it that way,” said state Sen. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, and the incoming chairman of the Senate Labor Committee. “We’re looking at everything from repeal all the way back to a few minor tweaks.”

Republicans won a majority in the state Senate in 2016 and now control both legislative chambers and the governor's office. In their view, the state’s current collective bargaining law – known colloquially as Chapter 20, for its place in the Iowa Code – provides overly generous benefits to public-sector workers and undermines governments’ control over spending.

“The big thing we’re looking for is to give taxpayers a place at the table,” said state Rep. Greg Forristall, R-Macedonia. “That means they have some say in how the money is spent, and that there are safeguards to see that taxes aren’t increased willy-nilly every time there’s a demand from collective bargaining.”

Disputing that view and looking to preserve the current law are Democrats and public-employee labor unions, who criticize GOP efforts as unnecessary, harmful to workers and communities and politically motivated.

“When (Republicans) were in the minority, they thought the law was great. Now that they’re in majority, they think the law needs to be changed,” AFSCME Council 61 President Danny Homan said. “Everything about this is about politics. Everything about this is about weakening unions’ ability to bargain over wages, terms and conditions.”

Homan’s organization is the largest public-sector union in the state, representing some 40,000 workers on road crews, in county courthouses, at state institutions and elsewhere.

While it’s not clear yet what specific changes the Republican Legislature will pursue, key lawmakers and interest groups have identified a handful of areas of interest. Among them:

Health care benefits

Currently, state law requires public employers and their employees to negotiate health insurance benefits within a collective bargaining agreement – a situation that for decades has afforded workers generous insurance plans at relatively low cost.

Republican lawmakers argue such plans are out of step with those available to private-sector employees and represent a huge cost to state and local governments. Republican Gov. Terry Branstad has floated the idea of removing health insurance from collective bargaining and establishing a single contract for all public employees across the state.

"If we treated health insurance like we do retirement — which has never been covered by collective bargaining, and which has one uniform program that is available for counties, cities, school districts and the state — we think that could save significant money," Branstad said. "It would give a lot more flexibility to local governments."

Arbitration

Several GOP lawmakers called for reforming the arbitration process by which labor contracts are settled when employers and workers can’t agree. Under the current system, each side makes a final offer and an independent arbitrator chooses one.

This is seen as particularly problematic for school districts, which may be forced to raise property taxes to pay for the salary or benefit increases required in a contract approved by an arbitrator. Indeed, changing the law on arbitration is a priority for the Iowa Association of School Boards.

“We can’t continue to give 3 percent increases when we’re only getting a 2 percent increase in school funding from the state,” association Executive Director Lisa Bartusek said.

Grievances

Lawmakers also say they’d like to streamline the grievance process by which employers and workers settle issues with job performance.

State Rep. Dave Deyoe, R-Nevada and the incoming chairman of the House Labor Committee, said the current process is “overly cumbersome.”

“Department heads spend too much time with grievances,” he said. “It’s too difficult for the state of Iowa or school districts to fire an employee who in any other field would be dismissed.”

Unions push back at priorities

None of these issues, argues Iowa State Education Association President Tammy Wawro, are a real priority for Iowa voters – even those who sent Republicans to Des Moines with a legislative majority.

“There is not a peoples’ mandate for something like this,” Wawro said. “I’ve not heard taxpayers talking about the need to change collective bargaining in Iowa. Maybe that’s why they’re all over the place and don’t know what to do – because this is much more of an attack than something the voters asked for.”

The ISEA is the state’s largest teachers union, and a major force in both the state’s Democratic Party and labor community.

The experience in Wisconsin – where Gov. Scott Walker and a Republican legislative majority abolished public workers’ right to bargain collectively in 2011 – looms over any talk of altering such laws here. That move sparked protests drawing tens of thousands of people and an occupation of the state Capitol in Madison. Democratic state senators fled to Illinois in an attempt to prevent a vote on the measure, and activists later attempted to throw Walker and several lawmakers out of office.

This year in Iowa, though, both sides say they’re not interested in bringing such upheaval to Des Moines. Even as Republican leaders say all changes to Chapter 20 are “on the table,” several expressed a personal preference to stop short of fully repealing bargaining rights. And key labor leaders concede massive public demonstrations are unlikely.

But even so, the battle is likely to be fierce.

“We will do everything in our power to protect the rights of workers to have a say in their job,” said state Rep. Bruce Hunter, D-Des Moines. “That is a fundamental right that we believe in and we will do everything in our power to protect those rights.”

— William Petroski contributed to this story.

State of the Union 2023 address recap: Biden lays out ambitious ...

WASHINGTON, D.C — President Joe Biden took credit Tuesday for what he said was the country's economic revival while pushing an agenda of reducing prescription drug costs, protecting abortion rights and banning assault weapons.

The economy was reeling two years ago, Biden said in his second State of the Union address delivered in a packed House chamber. In a preview of an expected reelection campaign announcement, he noted that the unemployment rate was at 50-year low while inflation has been easing.

“We’ve been sent here to finish the job,” Biden said, invoking a phrase he used several times in his speech.

But the rancorous atmosphere in the House chamber telegraphed fights ahead, including over budget priorities and avoiding a catastrophic default on the nation’s debt. At several points in Biden’s speech, was interrupted by Republicans, who criticized his handling of border policy and pushed back when he accused them of trying to cut popular entitlements.

SOTU analysis:Pivot point: Joe Biden faced a different chapter of his presidency in his State of the Union

Heckles, spats and deflection:The biggest moments you missed from Biden's State of the Union

State of the Union takeaways:Blue-collar Joe, GOP boos and a 2024 preview

The latest on Biden's speech:

Blue-collar pitch: Promoting his economic plan, Biden assured Americans that he wants to invest in “places and people that have been forgotten,” arguing that “too many people have been left behind or treated like they’re invisible.”

Promoting his economic plan, Biden assured Americans that he wants to invest in “places and people that have been forgotten,” arguing that “too many people have been left behind or treated like they’re invisible.” Biden calls Pelosi 'greatest speaker’ ever: Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi isn’t sitting behind Biden for his address but she got a special call-out from the president anyway.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi isn’t sitting behind Biden for his address but she got a special call-out from the president anyway. Biden touts progress on insulin prices while pushing for more: Biden renewed his call to cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for every American.

Biden renewed his call to cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for every American. Biden spars with GOP over Social Security and Medicare: The president prompted protests in the chamber from Republican lawmakers when he repeated his accusation that the GOP was trying to cut entitlements. When the protests continued, Biden said he wasn’t arguing that all Republicans back reviewing entitlement programs every five years. “But it’s being proposed,” he said.

Sanders: Biden has 'failed' American people; calls for 'new generation'

Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas, at age 40 the youngest governor in the country, didn't hesitate to point out that 80-year-old Joe Biden is the oldest president in history – and added that it is time for a "new generation" of Republican leadership.

"Biden and the Democrats have failed you," Sanders said in the formal GOP response to Biden's State of the Union address. "It's time for a change."

Speaking from the governor's mansion in Little Rock, Ark., Sanders cited domestic issues like inflation, immigration, and crime. Also criticizing the president's foreign policy, Sanders said Biden is "unfit" to be Commander-in-Chief.

Citing the Republican majority in the House, Sanders said: "We will hold the Biden administration accountable."

– David Jackson

The GOP:In Republican response to Biden's State of the Union, a vow to block the president's agenda

Biden calls Paul Pelosi 'tough'

Biden called out the political violence that was unleashed in the wake of Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack.

“With democracy, everything is possible. Without it, nothing is,” he said.

Biden introduced Paul Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was violently attacked in their home by an intruder, saying the assailant was “unhinged by the Big Lie” that the election was stolen.

“Here tonight in this chamber is the man who bears the scars of that brutal attack, but is as tough and strong and as resilient as they get. My friend, Paul Pelosi," he said. “But such a heinous act never should have happened.”

– Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy

Paul Pelosi attack:Video footage of violent home attack on Paul Pelosi released

Biden gets personal and celebrates Cancer Moonshot initiative

Biden celebrated the Cancer Moonshot initiative, aimed at advancing cancer prevention and treatment,

“Our goal is to cut the cancer death rates at least by 50% in the next 25 years. Turn more cancers from death sentences to treatable diseases. Provide more support for patients and their families.” The issue is also deeply personal to Biden, as one of his sons, Beau Biden, passed away due to brain cancer. “It’s personal to so many of us.”

Biden also singled out Maurice and Kandice Barron, a pair of guests invited by First Lady Jill Biden. Their daughter, Ava Barron, was diagnosed with a form of kidney cancer when she was one year old. “She turns four next month,” Biden said to wide cheers from the audience. “They just found out Ava’s beating the odds and is on her way to being cured from cancer.”

– Ken Tran

Cancer treatment:New cancer therapy takes personalized medicine to a new level

Biden says US stood up to China

Facing Republicans who’ve accused him of being too soft on China, Biden said he responded clearly last week when a Chinese surveillance balloon floated over the United States.

China knows that if U.S. sovereignty is threatened, Americans will act to protect the country.

“And we did,” Biden said, an apparent reference to his decision to shoot down the balloon.

– Maureen Groppe

Chinese spy balloon:Chinese spy balloon went over other US missile and nuclear weapons sites, lawmaker says

Biden: Stop production, trafficking of fentanyl

Citing Americans’ growing dependence on prescription drugs, Biden called for a major campaign to stop the production, sale and trafficking of fentanyl.

Biden noted that fentanyl is killing more than 70,000 Americans a year. But his remarks were met with contempt from some members of Congress.

“It’s your fault!” several Republicans shouted.

– Michael Collins

What is fentanyl poisoning?:These State of the Union guests lost their son to it

Biden says VA working to end 'the silent scourge of suicide'

Biden said when he first appointed Denis McDonough to run the Department of Veterans Affairs, the country was losing up to 25 veterans a day to “the silent scourge of suicide,” and continues to lose 17 per day.

“The VA is doing everything it can, including expanding mental health screenings and a proven program that recruits veterans to help other veterans understand what they’re going through and get the help they need,”

– Erin Mansfield

Military suicide:Amid suicide crisis, the Army says it will rush mental health providers to Alaska

Biden calls for higher teacher pay

Biden hasn't touched much on education issues during the address but did take a moment to outline several priorities on that front. Among them: expanding access to preschool and raising teacher pay.

In 2021, teachers made less than 77 cents on the dollar compared with other college graduates. Yet surveys show teachers work more than 50 hours a week on average. Close to 1 in 5 work elsewhere at another job. It's no surprise that nearly half of U.S. schools are short teachers. Some states and districts have proposed or enacted pay bumps but they've been modest at best.

Federal legislation again before Congress this session would set a teacher salary floor of $60,000. While raising teacher pay has garnered the support of some Republicans, the American Teacher Act is unlikely to get far. In some states teachers make less than $50,000 on average.

– Alia Wong

Teacher shortage:Amid crippling teacher shortages, some schools are turning to unorthodox solutions

Biden urges lawmakers to protect abortion rights

Biden called on lawmakers to “restore” abortion rights after the Supreme Court last year overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that established a constitutional right to abortion.

“The vice president and I are doing everything to protect access to reproductive health care and safeguard patient safety,” Biden said, noting that states across the country have implemented abortion bans and restrictions.

“Make no mistake about it. If Congress passes a national ban, I will veto it,” the president vowed.

– Marina Pitofsky

Roe v. Wade overturned:Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, eliminating constitutional right to abortion

Abortion pills:20 Republican attorneys general warn CVS, Walgreens against selling abortion pills by mail

Biden renews call to stand with Ukraine 'as long as it takes'

Calling Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a “test for the ages,” Biden said the U.S. passed that test by standing for sovereignty.

That matters, Biden said, because it “prevents open season for would-be aggressors.”

His argument – and promise to stand with Ukraine “as long as it takes” – comes as some Republicans are calling for greater scrutiny, or even a curtailment, of U.S. involvement.

– Maureen Groppe

Ukraine latest:Ukraine pushes to exclude Russia from 2024 Paris Olympics

Bono at the SOTU:Here's why musician, advocate Bono is at Biden's State of the Union address

America’s border problems won’t be fixed until Congress acts, said Biden.

Since launching a new border plan last month, unlawful migration from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela has come down 97%, Biden said.

“We now have a record number of personnel working to secure the border, arresting 8,000 human smugglers and seizing over 23,000 pounds of fentanyl in just the last several months,” he said.

He urged Congress to pass his plan to provide the equipment and officers to secure the border. He also asked Congress to pave a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, those on temporary status, farm workers, and essential workers.

– Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy

Border politics:Republicans said Biden wasn't doing enough on the border. New GOP-led House is demanding answers

Biden highlights ‘courage’ of Brandon Tsay and calls for assault weapon bans

Biden singled out Brandon Tsay’s heroism two weeks ago when he disarmed the Monterey Park shooter who killed 11 people who attended a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration. Tsay, who is in attendance, received a standing ovation from lawmakers as Biden acknowledged him.

“He saved lives. It’s time we do the same as well,” Biden said. “Ban assault weapons once and for all.”

Mass shootings typically lead lawmakers to call for such actions but it’s unlikely that a ban will pass in a divided Congress with many Republican lawmakers who have vowed that they will not waver on gun control.

– Elisabeth Buchwald

'Still too high':Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin orders independent panel to study military suicide

Marjorie Taylor Greene yells at Biden multiple times

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a fervent opponent of Biden who has called for his impeachment, yelled at him twice during the State of the Union address.

The first time came as Biden said Republicans want to cut Social Security and Medicare – an accusation that Greene refuted when she stood up yelled “Liar!”

Greene later yelled, “China spied on us!” near the end of Biden’s speech.

She also yelled to “close the border” and “it’s your fault” when the president talked about the fentanyl crisis.

– Candy Woodall

Heckling lawmakers:Marjorie Taylor Greene, other Republicans spar with Biden over Social Security, Medicare

State of the Union guests:Lawmakers highlight policing, abortion, wrongful imprisonment

Biden on Tyre Nichols’ death: ‘Something good must come from this’

Biden used his speech to pay tribute to Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man who died after being beaten by Memphis police officers.

Biden called for more police training and more resources to reduce violent crime, along with more investments in housing, education and training.

Noting that Nichols’ mother and stepfather were seated in the first lady’s box, Biden urged lawmakers to commit themselves to making the words of Nichols’ mother come true: “Something good must come from this.”

– Michael Collins

Tyre Nichols killing:7 more Memphis police employees under investigation in Tyre Nichols' death, city attorney says

Biden invokes Uvalde massacre in call for gun reform

In a call to action on gun violence, Biden invoked his trip to Uvalde, Texas, after the Robb Elementary School shooting where 19 students and two teachers were killed.

“Do something, do something. That was the plea of parents who lost their children in Uvalde, I met with everyone.” Biden said, then pointing to the bipartisan gun reform law he signed. “Thank god we did. Passing the most sweeping gun safety law in three decades.”

– Ken Tran

Uvalde shooting:Her daughter was killed in Uvalde. She's suing police, the school district and a gunmaker.

COVID is under control but vigilance necessary, says Biden

While COVID-19 deaths are down nearly 90%, and the end of the public health emergency is close, Biden said the country will remember the pain of losing loved ones will never go away for many.

“Families grieving. Children orphaned. Empty chairs at the dining room table. We remember them, and we remain vigilant,” he said.

Biden said it was important to remain vigilant and monitor dozens of variants and support new vaccines and treatments. He urged Congress to fund these efforts and keep America safe.

– Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy

The COVID emergency declaration is ending:What it means for tests, vaccines, treatment

Biden: Police departments 'must be held accountable'

Saying Tyre Nichols’ mother wants something good to come from his death at the hands of police officers in Memphis, Biden called for police reform.

“When police officers or departments violate the public trust, they must be held accountable,” he said.

Biden also pointed to an executive order he signed affecting federal officers that banned chokeholds, restricted no-knock warrants, and implemented “other key elements of the George Floyd Act.”

– Erin Mansfield

Tyre Nichols:Ex-Memphis police officer took a photo of Tyre Nichols after beating, document says

Biden urges Congress to act on labor reform

Biden called for Congress to take up labor reform and worker protections as he touted his support for unions and his pledge to be “the most pro-union president.”

“I’m so sick and tired of companies breaking the law by preventing workers from organizing,” said Biden. “Workers have a right to form a union.”

Biden also urged action on additional worker protections and benefits, including paid family and medical leave and affordable child care, specifically calling for the return of the expanded Child Tax Credit.

– Ken Tran

Labor secretary makes move:Former Boston mayor Marty Walsh stepping down as Biden Labor Secretary for job with NHL union

Biden calls for rebooting the expanded Child Tax Credit

Parents who qualify for the Child Tax Credit (CTC) won’t be getting as hefty checks as last year. That’s because the enhanced CTC, which parents could also opt to receive in installments rather than waiting to receive it in a lump sum payment when they file their taxes, expired.

The enhanced CTC increased payments from $2,000 per qualifying child to $3,600 for children ages 5 and under and $3,000 for children ages 6 through 17. This year it will go back to $2,000 for qualifying children of all ages.

In his remarks, Biden vowed to “restore the full Child Tax Credit which gave tens of millions of parents some breathing room and cut child poverty in half, to the lowest level in history.”

– Elisabeth Buchwald

Child tax credit this year:How much is the Child Tax Credit for 2023? Here's what you need to know about qualifying.

Biden: Ban ‘junk fees’ on hotel bills, other services

Biden urged Congress to pass legislation to ban excess fees that companies often tack onto hotel bills, airline tickets and other services.

“Americans are tired of being played for suckers,” he said.

The Junk Fee Prevention Act, if approved, would bar so-called “resort fees” that can add up to $90 a night on hotel bills, stop cable internet and cell phone companies from charging up to $200 more when a customer switches providers, and prohibit airlines from charging up to $50 roundtrip for families to sit together, Biden said.

– Michael Collins

Junk fees:Biden moves to limit credit fees to $8 for missed payments in latest "junk fee" crack down

Social Security and Medicare benefits draw tension during speech

Biden’s State of the Union address comes as he and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have started talks on the debt ceiling and government spending.

Tension has been building between the two parties over Social Security and Medicare benefits. McCarthy said Republicans aren’t going to cut those programs, but Democrats say the math will force those cuts if the GOP demands lowered government spending.

Biden in his speech said Republicans want to cut the programs, to which Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., stood up and yelled “Liar!” as other members booed the president.

“OK, so we agree,” Biden said. “Social Security and Medicare is off the books.”

Bipartisan cheers returned to the chamber.

– Candy Woodall

Medicare:Medicare launches plan to negotiate prices for the costliest drugs. Here's what to know.

Biden takes credit for deficit cuts

Biden celebrated the government’s deficit cuts seen under his administration in his State of the Union address.

“For the last two years, my administration has cut the deficit by more than $1.7 trillion, the largest deficit reduction in American history,” Biden said. The deficit’s cut was partly a result of higher tax revenues that Biden touted but also the end of spending related to the pandemic.

Biden also took a jab at former President Donald Trump for increases in the federal deficit under Trump’s administration. “Under the previous administration, the American deficit went up four years in a row,” Biden said, to boos and jeers from Republican lawmakers.

– Ken Tran

What happens if the US hits the debt ceiling?:Here's what to expect if we reach debt limit.

Biden says Republicans want to ‘take the economy hostage’ in debt ceiling talks

Biden accused Republicans of wanting to “take the economy hostage” unless he agrees to their demands for spending cuts during debt ceiling talks.

Biden demanded Republicans show “what their plans are.” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has not specified what Republicans want axed.

“Some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset every five years,” Biden said, prompting loud boos from Republicans in Congress.

– Joey Garrison

Medicare and debt ceiling fight:How Medicare and Social Security benefits factor into the Kevin McCarthy debt ceiling fight

Biden defends Inflation Reduction Act

President Biden touted the Inflation Reduction Act which he signed into law, saying he was taking on powerful interest to bring health care costs down.

“You know, we pay more for prescription drugs than any major country on earth,” he said. “Big Pharma has been unfairly charging people hundreds of dollars – and making record profits.”

Having capped the cost of insulin at $35 a month for seniors on Medicare, Biden said it was time to help Americans not on Medicare, including 200,000 young people with Type I diabetes who need insulin to save their lives. “Let’s cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for every American who needs it,” he said. The law also caps out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors on Medicare at a maximum $2,000 per year.

He also promised to veto any attempts to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act.

– Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy

Credit fees:Biden moves to limit credit fees to $8 for missed payments in latest "junk fee" crack down

Biden tangles with GOP lawmakers over Social Security and Medicare

Biden got into an unusual back and forth with Republicans over whether GOP lawmakers want to end the automatic continuation of Social Security and Medicare.

When some vocally protested, Biden responded: “Anyone who doubts it, contact my office. I’ll give you a copy of the proposal.”

When the protests continued, Biden said he wasn’t arguing that all Republicans back reviewing entitlement programs every five years.

“But it’s being proposed,” he said.

– Maureen Groppe

Medicare debate:How Medicare and Social Security benefits factor into the Kevin McCarthy debt ceiling fight

Cheers and boos for Biden

Progressive members of the House, known as “the Squad,” cheered as President Joe Biden pushed for fair taxes and called out low tax rates for billionaires.

“You tell ‘em, Joe,” said Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.

He also had plenty of jeers from the Republican side of the chamber when he slammed former President Donald Trump’s fiscal record and accused the House GOP of trying to cut Social Security and Medicare. The latter attracted loud boos.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., stood up and yelled, “Liar!” from the back of the chamber.

– Candy Woodall

Talkative Biden:On average, Biden is most talkative president in six decades of State of Union addresses

Biden repeats call for ‘billionaire’s tax’

Biden used his speech to call again for Congress to pass a so-called “billionaire’s tax,” saying some of the biggest corporations in the country are raking in billions of dollars in profits but paying no federal income taxes.

“That’s simply not fair,” he said.

Biden did not spell out the specifics of his proposal. But in the past, he has called for a 20% levy on households with a net worth of more than $100 million.

– Michael Collins

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Biden calls climate crisis ‘an existential threat’

Biden said “the climate crisis doesn't care if you're in a red or blue state” as he touted his administration’s work to take on what he called “an existential threat.”

He pointed to the Inflation Reduction Act, which included the largest climate package ever, and investments from his infrastructure law.

He later went off-script, saying, “We’re still going to need oil and gas for a while.”

– Joey Garrison

UN Secretary-General::'No more baby steps' on climate change

Biden to Congress: Continue insurance subsidies that lowered uninsured rates

Biden celebrated the fact that a record number of Americans have health insurance while calling on Congress to continue expanded insurance subsidies that helped boost that rate.

Those enhanced subsidies for people who purchase insurance on their own, instead of getting coverage from the government or an employer, expire after 2025.

“Let’s finish the job and make the savings permanent,” Biden said as he also called for extending expanded Medicaid coverage to all states.

– Maureen Groppe

Biden takes made in America a step further

Biden touted American manufacturing gains and a campaign promise to move more production to the U.S. from foreign countries. Biden then announced, “new standards to require all construction materials used in federal infrastructure projects to be made in America.”

“American-made lumber, glass, drywall, fiber optic cables,” he said. “And on my watch, American roads, American bridges, and American highways will be made with American products.”

Biden’s message echoes former President Donald Trump’s prior State of the Union addresses where he boasted about initiatives to bring back manufacturing jobs that have been lost over the years.

– Elisabeth Buchwald

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Biden touts legislative victories in infrastructure and manufacturing

Biden championed his series of legislative victories that ranged from tackling the country’s supply chain shortage and sweeping investments in domestic manufacturing and infrastructure.

“We’re gonna make sure the supply chain for America begins in America,” Biden said, touting a bipartisan bill he signed that made investments to boost domestic manufacturing of semiconductors.

“To maintain the strongest economy in the world, we need the best infrastructure in the world,” said Biden, pointing to the bipartisan infrastructure bill. “Folks, we’re just getting started.”

– Ken Tran

Why Bono is at SOTU:Here's why musician, advocate Bono is at Biden's State of the Union address

Biden appeals to middle and working class people on manufacturing

In an appeal to middle class and working class people, Biden said he ran for president “to make sure the economy works for everyone” so that everyone can have pride in what they do for a living.

“For decades, the middle class was hollowed out,” he said. “Too many good-paying manufacturing jobs moved overseas. Factories at home closed down. Once-thriving cities and towns that many of you represent became shadows of what they used to be.”

Biden then spoke about his administration’s accomplishments in the manufacturing sector.

– Erin Mansfield

What is fentanyl poisoning?:These State of the Union guests lost their son to it

More:As Biden prepares 2024 reelection run, Dems worry blue-collar voters are slipping away

Biden: ‘COVID no longer controls our lives’

Biden said the nation’s economy is roaring back from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Two years ago, COVID had shut down our businesses, closed our schools, and robbed us of so much,” he said. “Today, COVID no longer controls our lives.”

Biden said his administration has created 12 million jobs, “more jobs created in two years than any president has ever created in four.”

– Michael Collins

A full House – literally – for State of the Union

President Joe Biden entered a full House chamber Tuesday.

The capacity crowd included House and Senate members, current and former Supreme Court justices, family and honored guests.

Biden’s first words were met with a standing ovation, as he honored Republican and Democratic leaders – but also as he described the state of the union.

The applause came from Democrats and Republicans, and the standing ovations were sometimes led by a row of powerful Senate moderates, including Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Kyrsten Sinema, who recently changed her party affiliation to independent.

– Candy Woodall

Biden: Pelosi is 'greatest speaker’ ever

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi isn’t sitting behind Biden for his address but she got a special call-out from the president anyway.

“I want to give special recognition to someone who I think will be considered the greatest speaker in the history of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi,” Biden said.

Pelosi stepped down from Democratic leadership after the midterm elections. Biden also congratulated her successor, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the first Black American to be House minority leader.

– Maureen Groppe

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Biden begins speech telling McCarthy he looks forward to ‘working together’

Biden began his remarks congratulating Kevin McCarthy, the new Republican House speaker, and saying he looks forward to “working together.”

Biden also congratulated Democratic Leader Hakeem Jefferies, the first African American man to lead a party, and gave shout outs to Senate Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“The story of America is a story of progress and resilience. Of always moving forward. Of never giving up,” Biden said.

– Joey Garrison

Labor Secretary Marty Walsh is designated survivor for 2023 State of the Union

Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh is the designated survivor for this year's State of the Union address.

Every year, a top government official is chosen as the “designated survivor” as a way to maintain the presidential line of succession in case of a catastrophic event where multiple officials in the line are unable to assume office.

– Ken Tran

Marty Walsh:Former Boston mayor Marty Walsh stepping down as Biden Labor Secretary for job with NHL union

Bono is at the State of the Union

Bono, the Irish lead singer of U2, is attending the State of the Union as a guest of first lady Jill Biden.

Bono is a longtime social justice advocate who co-founded the nonprofit ONE Campaign to address poverty and preventable diseases and Prouct RED to address HIV and AIDS in Africa.

He’s sitting next to Paul Pelosi, husband of former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

– Erin Mansfield

What is fentanyl poisoning?:These State of the Union guests lost their son to it

2 Californians will sit behind Biden

Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy may not share a political party. But they do have something in common. Both are from California.

That gave them at least one thing to talk about as they stood on the rostrum, waiting for Biden’s speech to begin.

– Maureen Groppe

Biden gets a Supreme Court majority for speech, if not policies

At least for tonight, President Joe Biden landed a majority of the Supreme Court.

Five sitting Supreme Court justices stepped into the House chamber before the president’s remarks: Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

That’s a decent turnout for an event some current and former justices have derided as a “political pep rally” and a “childish spectacle.”

Whether the president can cobble together a majority for any of his policies pending at the court – on immigration, student loan debt relief or environmental rules – remains to be seen.

– John Fritze

Biden to get bipartisan escort into House chamber

Biden will be escorted into the House chamber by a bipartisan group of House and Senate officials, including Senate leaders Chuck Schumer, D-NY, and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

–Michael Collins

Face masks uncommon as pre-pandemic normality returns

Few lawmakers were wearing face masks as they filed onto the House floor for Biden’s State of the Union speech.

And unlike last year, members of Congress were allowed to bring guests, a return to pre-pandemic normality.

“Today, COVID no longer controls our lives,” Biden will declare, according to speech excerpts the White House released in advance.

– Maureen Groppe

State of the economy:A look at economy's strengths, weaknesses as Biden sets to boast of record job growth in State of Union

Biden arrives at Capitol

Biden’s motorcade arrived at the Capitol at 8:40 p.m. ahead of his 9 p.m. State of the Union speech.

“Great shape, getting better,” Biden said when a reporter asked him, “What’s the state of the union?” before he departed the White House.

– Joey Garrison

5 big questions for Biden's speech:Is he running? 5 big questions Joe Biden will answer in the State of the Union

Poll: Republicans want GOP leaders to 'stand up’ to Biden

If Biden doesn’t find a receptive audience to his call for the two parties to work together, Republican voters could be the reason.

Most Republicans (64%) want GOP congressional leaders to “stand up” to Biden on matters important to GOP, even if that makes it harder to address critical problems facing the country, according to recent polling from the Pew Research Center.

And more are concerned that GOP lawmakers won’t focus enough on investigating the administration than the share worried that they will focus too much on investigations.

– Maureen Groppe

State of the Union guests:Lawmakers highlight policing, abortion, wrongful imprisonment

Biden approval rating hovering in low 40s ahead of speech

Biden’s second State of the Union address Tuesday comes as he remains under water politically, with more than half of voters disapproving of his job performance, according to most polls.

A Washington Post-ABC poll released this week found 42% of voters approve of Biden’s job performance, while 53% disapprove. That closely matches the FiveThirtyEight average of polls.

Biden’s job performance has stayed below since August 2021 in most polls. Even more troubling for Biden, most Americans can’t identify his achievements. Sixty-two percent of Americans said Biden has accomplished "not very much" or “little or nothing," in the same Washington Post-ABC News poll, while only 36% said he has accomplished "a great deal" or "a good amount."

– Joey Garrison

What to watch for:The State of the Union is Tuesday: Here's what you can expect from Joe Biden's speech

Vice President Kamala Harris chats with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy ahead of speech

Vice President Kamala Harris shook hands with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and the two chatted, as they stood behind the rostrum waiting for Biden to enter the House chamber.

This will be the first State of the Union with McCarthy as speaker since Republicans took control of the House during the midterm elections.

– Joey Garrison

Biden heads to the Capitol

Biden left the White House at 8:30 p.m. en route to the Capitol. Vice President Kamala Harris arrived ahead of him along with the majority of his Cabinet.

– Elisabeth Buchwald

Paul Pelosi arrives at State of the Union

Paul Pelosi, the 82-year-old husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, arrived at the State of the Union about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday.

This marks his first visit to a joint session of Congress since a video release of a brutal October attack that left him with head and hand injuries requiring surgery.

– Candy Woodall

Lawmakers arrive for State of the Union

If handshakes across the aisle are any reliable indication, there was a hint of bipartisanship in the air as lawmakers arrived for President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union before a divided Congress.

There was also the smell of cigars in the House gallery hallways on the third floor, a sign of the changing guard and new House rules.

Several guests and congresswomen were wearing white, as a nod to the suffragettes. That included Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who despite earlier posts did not bring a white balloon into the chamber to troll Biden about what she describes as a delayed response in taking down the Chinese spy balloon.

- Candy Woodall

Biden traveling to Wisconsin and Florida after speech

Biden administration officials will hit the road this week, holding events in at least 20 states to highlight parts of the president’s message.

Biden himself will talk about his economic agenda in Wisconsin Wednesday and will discuss Social Security and Medicare in Florida Thursday.

Vice President Kamala Harris is heading to Georgia and Minnesota. Multiple other cabinet members are also fanning out across the country.

- Maureen Groppe

How would Biden’s billionaire tax work?

Tonight Biden will resurface his plan to levy more taxes on the ultra-wealthy. But how would that work?

Under the current tax system, you don’t have to pay taxes on assets like stocks, homes and artwork that can appreciate over time until you sell it. But if you hold onto them until you die, you won’t have to pay any taxes. And on top of that, heirs that inherit your assets won’t have to pay taxes if they sell them.

The Biden Administration refers to this as a tax loophole, as billionaires benefit the most since they’re more likely than working-class Americans to get compensated via stocks or other assets that appreciate over time or inherit them.

To end the practice, Biden is proposing “minimum income tax” on American households worth more than $100 million. His plan calls for the wealthiest Americans to pay a tax rate of at least 20% on their full income, including unrealized gains from assets that have increased in value since their purchase.

– Elisabeth Buchwald

Taxing billionaires:Should the wealthy pay taxes on expensive art and wine? Joe Biden thinks so. Here's how it would work

Ocasio-Cortez lays out expectations for Biden’s speech, working with Republicans

Ahead of Biden’s address, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D.-N.Y., said she’s hoping to “hear a really strong vision” from Biden and explained how Democrats and Republicans could find common ground after the GOP gained control of the House during the midterm elections.

The New York lawmaker told CNN she hopes to hear “about not just what we've done so far, but also our plans on executing on the enormous bills and successes that we've had in the last one to two years," saying “There still is implementation and execution on these plans to address our priorities around climate, taxing the rich and so much more.”

– Marina Pitofsky

Biden's 'finish the job' call in State of the Union echoes FDR

Historian Michael Beschloss hears echoes of Franklin D. Roosevelt in Biden’s State of the Union address.

Biden will call on Republicans to work with him to “finish the job” of rebuilding the economy and uniting the country, according to excerpts of the speech released by the White House.

“Finish the job” was used as a rationale for FDR's reelection, Beschloss tweeted about the phrase’s historical lineage. It was also a slogan for the World War I effort. And in a famous radio address during World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill vowed to “finish the job.”

At the start of Biden’s administration, many comparisons – not all of them favorable – were made between the size and scope of Biden’s ambitions, Roosevelt’s programs and the World War II spending that lifted the nation out of the Great Depression.

– Maureen Groppe

Sarah Huckabee Sanders: Biden is more interested in 'woke fantasies' than concerns of everyday Americans

In delivering the Republican response to the State of the Union, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sander plans to attack Biden and the Democrats over a panoply of issues that include inflation, taxes, education and so-called "culture wars."

"And while you reap the consequences of their failures, the Biden administration seems more interested in woke fantasies than the hard reality Americans face every day," Sanders plans to say, according to speech excerpts released by her office.

Another excerpt: "Most Americans simply want to live their lives in freedom and peace, but we are under attack in a left-wing culture war we didn’t start and never wanted to fight."

– David Jackson

State of the Union guests:Lawmakers highlight policing, abortion, wrongful imprisonment

How long does the State of the Union last? What it will take for Biden to set a SOTU record

Biden’s first State of the Union address in 2022 was somewhere between the longest and shortest speeches ever given, according to The American Presidency Project. Will he keep his second address tonight short and sweet, or will he be long-winded?

If he intendeds to break the record for the shortest speech ever, he’d have it keep it under 28 minutes and 55 seconds. That was the time Richard Nixon took to deliver his address in 1972. To beat the longest address ever, he’d have to outdo his fellow Democrat former President Bill Clinton, who went on for 1 hour, 28 minutes and 40 seconds for his final State of the Union speech in 2000. Clinton also claims the spot for the second longest address, clocking in at 1 hour, 24 minutes and 58 seconds in 1995.

– Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy

Biden to promise investment in ‘places and people that have been forgotten’

Biden will spend part of his address promoting his economic plan and assuring Americans that he wants to invest in “places and people that have been forgotten.”

Amid the economic upheaval of the past four decades, too many people have been left behind or treated like they’re invisible, he will say, according to excerpts of the speech released by the White House.

“Maybe that’s you watching at home,” Biden will say. “You remember the jobs that went away. And you wonder whether a path even exists anymore for you and your children to get ahead without moving away. I get it. That’s why we’re building an economy where no one is left behind. Jobs are coming back, pride is coming back because of the choices we made in the last two years. This is a blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America and make a real difference in your lives.”

– Michael Collins

Biden to praise recovery from Jan. 6 riot, COVID

President Joe Biden will say “the story of America is a story of progress and resilience” in his State of the Union address as he touts a rebounding economy, COVID-19 recovery and democracy that survived the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack, according to excerpts of the speech provided by the White House.

Biden will tout 12 million new jobs created under his presidency – many that came back following the pandemic – to claim economic progress. And he will reflect on a period two years ago when businesses and schools closed at the height of the pandemic.

“Today, COVID no longer controls our lives,” Biden plans to say. “And two years ago, our democracy faced its greatest threat since the Civil War. Today, though bruised, our democracy remains unbowed and unbroken.”

– Joey Garrison

Biden to ask Republicans to work with him in SOTU speech

President Joe Biden will make a plea to Republicans in Congress to work with him. He said after the November elections that Americans sent a divided Congress to Washington because they want them to work together.

“The people sent us a clear message,” Biden will say, according to excerpts released from the White House. “Fighting for the sake of fighting, power for the sake of power, conflict for the sake of conflict, gets us nowhere.”

– Erin Mansfield

Why Sen. Patty Murray and other lawmakers will be wearing crayons at State of the Union

Washington Sen. Patty Murray and some of her Democratic colleagues will be wearing crayon pins to President Joe Biden's State of the Union address Tuesday to signal their support for greater investments in child care. Such care now costs more than $10,000 a year on average, and roughly half of Americans live in a child care desert. Insufficient child care takes a toll on America's economy, recent research shows, costing taxpayers $122 billion annually.

Partisan gridlock has prevented progress on major child care reforms, such as Murray's Child Care for Working Families Act, which would generally cap child care expenses at 7% of a family's household income. Biden, who alluded to that cap in his last State of the Union, has also struggled to gain traction on his child care proposals.

– Alia Wong

Lawmakers to highlight key social issues through guests

Tuesday night’s State of the Union address will be the first year since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic where lawmakers are allowed to bring their own guests. As part of tradition, lawmakers tend to invite guests that draw attention to issues important to them.

Several Democratic lawmakers have invited guests to champion abortion access such as Roslyn Roger Collins, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Metropolitan New Jersey, who will attend the address alongside Rep. Bob Mendendez, D-N.J., according to Planned Parenthood.

In the wake of the brutal beating and subsequent death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee, members of the Congressional Black Caucus are bringing guests who have been impacted by police violence. House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has invited Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, who died at the hands of a New York police officer in 2014.

– Christine Fernando and Ken Tran

Republican response: Sarah Huckabee Sanders follows in historic footsteps with her State of the Union response

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is the first former White House press secretary to deliver a formal State of the Union response – she is not, however, the first governor of Arkansas to do the honors.

Back in 1985, the Democrats picked a young governor of Arkansas to deliver their response to President Ronald Reagan.

His name? Bill Clinton ... then-future President Bill Clinton.

Sanders will give the Republican rebuttal after Biden's speech.

– David Jackson

5 big questions for the SOTU:Is he running? 5 big questions Joe Biden will answer in the State of the Union

Biden and China: Spy balloon likely to be addressed

The speech is a chance for Biden to respond to those who have criticized how he handled the suspected Chinese spy balloon that drifted over the United States last week – and to send a public message to China. Republicans have accused Biden of showing weakness by not shooting down the balloon sooner.

Tensions have been rising with China, which the U.S. considers its biggest strategic and economic competitor. The nations have clashed over Taiwan, technology, human rights, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other disputes.

The Biden administration has been trying to stabilize the relationship, building what it’s called “guardrails” as it normalizes interaction. But one effort to do that – sending Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China – was postponed because of the balloon incident.

– Maureen Groppe and Michael Collins

Intel chair: China balloon flew over nuke sites

Biden to lay out 'forceful approach’ to combatting fentanyl

The Biden administration will launch a national campaign to educate young people on the dangers of fentanyl, part of the “forceful approach” for going after fentanyl trafficking and reducing overdose deaths.

Other steps include:

Using new large-scale scanners to improve efforts to stop fentanyl from being brought into the U.S. through the southern border.

Working with package delivery companies to catch more packages containing fentanyl from being shipped around the country.

Working with Congress to make permanent a temporary tool that that’s helped federal agents crack down on drugs chemically similar to fentanyl.

– Maureen Groppe

5 big questions on Biden's speech:Is he running? 5 big questions Joe Biden will answer in the State of the Union

Biden to plug job market as recession looms

President Joe Biden is expected to take credit for a booming job market and easing inflation when he speaks to the nation Tuesday night.

But he’ll likely leave out a litany of trouble spots, including a slumping housing market, a monthslong manufacturing downturn and elevated recession risk this year. Meanwhile, inflation is still high and economists pin at least some of the blame on Biden for showering Americans with cash in early 2021 while the economy was already healing.

– Paul Davidson

State of the economy:A look at economy's strengths, weaknesses as Biden sets to boast of record job growth in State of Union

Who is Sarah Huckabee Sanders? Arkansas governor to giver Republican response to Biden's State of the Union address

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, one-time White House press secretary for former President Trump and current governor of Arkansas, will deliver the Republican rebuttal to Biden’s State of the Union address tonight.

Sanders, the youngest governor in the U.S., hails from a prominent political family. Her father Mike Huckabee was the 44th governor of Arkansas, serving from 1996 to 2007 before launching an unsuccessful presidential bid during the 2008 election. The younger Sanders has since cut out her own place in GOP politics, emerging as one of the more high-profile members of the Trump administration.

– Anna Kaufman

Bono, Tyre Nichols’ family members among guests sitting with first lady Jill Biden Tuesday night

The lead singer for the rock group U2, Bono, and Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, are among the White House guests attending President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday.

Guests are chosen to highlight themes of the president’s speech or because they represent his policy initiatives.

Bono is the cofounder of the ONE campaign to fight poverty and preventable diseases, and (RED), which fights HIV/AIDS in Africa. Other guests who will be sitting with first lady Jill Biden during the speech include:

The mother and stepfather of Tyre Nichols, the 29-year-old Black man who died after being beaten by Memphis police officers.

Brandon Tsay, the man who disarmed the Monterey Park gunman who killed 11 people and injured 10 others during a Lunar New Year celebration.

A Texas woman who almost died because doctors were concerned that intervening when her pregnancy ran into difficulties would violate the state’s abortion ban.

One of the Massachusetts same-sex couples who sued the state for the right to marry in 2001.

– Maureen Groppe

What to expect from tonight's speech:Here's what you can expect from Joe Biden's speech

Biden's speech comes amid job gains

One accomplishment Biden is sure to bring up tonight is the level of job gains under his presidency. Since he took office the unemployment rate went from 6.3% to 3.4%, per the latest jobs data.

Despite recession fears and massive tech layoffs, U.S. employers added 517,000 new jobs last month, well exceeding economists' expectations of around 180,000 new jobs.

The blowout jobs report paved the way for the Federal Reserve to pass more rate hikes aimed at lowering inflation, Fed Chairman Powell said in remarks he delivered earlier today. But the rate hikes could push the economy closer to a recession, which the central bank has avoided so far.

– Elisabeth Buchwald

Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan remains stalled

Biden has yet to fulfill his campaign promise of canceling at least $10,000 in student loan debt. Last year he unveiled a plan to make good on his promise.

However the plan is being stalled by legal challenges. Six states – Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina – formed a coalition to fight the proposal. They argue that canceling student loan debt extends beyond the administration’s legal authority.

The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments for the case later this month. The Biden administration claims it is well within their legal realm to proceed with its plan. It cannot do so unless the Court rules in its favor, however.

– Elisabeth Buchwald

Stock market under Biden

Since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 10%. Last year the index fell into a bear market, meaning it dropped 20% below a market peak set last January.

During former President Donald Trump's time in office, the Dow gained 56%. That represents an annualized gain of close to 12%, one of the best stock market performances under a Republican president according to data from LPL Financial.

– Elisabeth Buchwald

What time is the State of the Union speech tonight?

Biden’s State of the Union speech is Tuesday at 9 p.m. EST.

How to stream the SOTU

The speech will be livestreamed by USA TODAY.

Who is the designated survivor tonight?

The State of the Union address, delivered to a joint session of Congress and a crowd that includes all nine Supreme Court justices, poses a unique scenario in which every key member of the nation’s leadership is in one room.

That makes it both a momentous affair, and a significant national security risk. For this reason, each year one member of the president’s Cabinet dubbed the "designated survivor" hangs back.

The practice dates back to the Cold War, during which fears of a Soviet Nuclear attack abounded and a fresh urgency surrounded protocols for the order of presidential succession. The designated survivor for 2023 has not yet been announced, but heads of the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, and Energy have most frequently been chosen.

– Anna Kaufman

What channel is the State of the Union on?

The major TV networks and other news outlets, such as Fox News, MSNBC, CNN and PBS, are providing live coverage of the address.

What is the State of the Union address?

The State of the Union address isn’t just a tradition in the nation’s capital. It's rooted in the Constitution.

Article II of the Constitution says the president shall “from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union."

That doesn’t mean the president has to give a speech – as they often do today.

"From that very general mandate in the Constitution has evolved into what we recognize today as a yearly event, with lots of pomp and circumstance," Claire Jerry, a curator of political history at the National Museum of American History, told USA TODAY.

– Marina Pitofsky

When did the annual message become known as State of the Union address?

From 1790 to 1946, the speech delivered by the president to Congress was known simply as the "Annual Message."

In 1947 is became the ‘State of the Union’ and has since been referred to by that name.

– Anna Kaufman

What is the origin of the state of the union address?

Article II, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution states that the president will “give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.”

This language birthed the practice, allowing the executive to deliver to a joint session of Congress and the American people.

In the modern era, the speech has become a vehicle for administrations to roll out their policy priorities for the coming year and spotlight key agenda issues.

– Anna Kaufman

Piece of NKY Chamber's agenda on fast track

Nancy Daly

ndaly@communitypress.com

COVINGTON – Only three weeks since unveiling “Where We Stand,” the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce’s 2017 state legislative priorities, the chamber has already seen two of its preferences win approval in the House.

A right-to-work bill and repeal of prevailing wage are among the first bills given House approval in the 2017 legislative “short” session in Frankfort which started Jan. 3.

The NKY Chamber hosted its “Where We Stand” event at the Hotel Covington on Dec. 15. Most attendees in the overwhelmingly Republican Northern Kentucky legislative caucus barely suppressed their glee at the GOP’s takeover of the Kentucky House of Representatives, giving Republicans super majorities in both chambers.

And presenters of the longtime pro-business policy stands – chamber officers, leaders in business, health care, education and law – were similarly upbeat about chances of getting issues passed by the Kentucky legislature this year.

► FRIDAY IN FRANKFORT:

Right-to-work bill marches on, awaits passage

Each year the NKY Chamber identifies key legislative issues affecting its members, formulates pro-business policy positions and advocates for those positions on behalf of members.

At the Hotel Covington get-together, subject matter experts presented and discussed the top priorities, which include:

Labor and employment law changes

Right to work

Repeal of prevailing wage

Tax reform

Implementation of outcomes-based and equity funding for Northern Kentucky University

Medical review panels

With the General Assembly called to order Jan. 3, a right-to-work bill and repeal of prevailing wage were among the first bills to receive a vote.

Prevailing wage repeal gets House OK

A bill that would repeal a state law requiring payment of an hourly base wage – or prevailing wage – to workers on public works construction projects passed the House on Jan. 5.

House Bill 3, sponsored by House Speaker Jeff Hoover, R-Jamestown, and Rep. Adam Koenig, R-Erlanger, would apply to projects for which bids have not yet been awarded at the time the bill, should it pass, takes effect. An emergency clause included in HB 3 would ensure the bill takes effect immediately upon being signed into law by the governor.

Koenig, who presented HB 3 to the House Economic Development and Workforce Investment Committee before the committee approved the bill Jan. 4, said prevailing wage laws are “unlikely to yield rates that are representative of market wages.” They are also a financial strain on local governments and school districts, Koenig said, emphasizing that saving money was the motivation for filing HB 3, according to a Legislative Research Committee press release.

The bill has the support of Boone County Schools Superintendent Dr. Randy Poe who testified alongside Koenig, as well as at the Hotel Covington preview. Poe told the committee that higher construction fees on prevailing wage projects have cost his school district as much as $50 million over the last 19 years.

“The higher fees we pay through prevailing wage keeps us from improving upon traditional space versus portable space (for) our students,” Poe said. “This is about creating more space for our students.”

Speaking against the bill was Bill Finn, state director of the Kentucky State Building and Construction Trades Council. Finn said that nine out of 11 economic studies since 2001 have shown no increase in overall construction costs due to prevailing wage.

HB 3 now goes to the Senate for its consideration.

Right-to-work bill passes House

The Kentucky House of Representatives has passed right-to-work legislation that would prohibit Kentuckians from being required to join labor unions as a condition of employment.

House Bill 1 would prohibit mandatory membership in or payment of dues to labor organizations with few exceptions involving federal law and agreements entered into before HB 1 would take effect. Violators would be subject to prosecution. Passed by a vote of 58-39, the bill would make Kentucky the 27th right-to-work state.

The legislation had passed the House Economic Development and Workforce Investment Committee favorably after an hour-long discussion that began with comments from Gov. Matt Bevin. “Jobs come from private sector employers and they’re incentivized by the kinds of things you’re going to hear in coming days,” Bevin said. “This is a zero-sum game,” the LRC reported.

On Jan. 4, union members angrily protested the progress thus far of right to work and prevailing wage repeal, the AP reported.

In a video shot by the Courier-Journal, union members booed Gov. Bevin as he left a committee room at the Capitol Annex urging support for right-to-work legislation Jan. 4.

After the Jan. 5 House approval, right to work now goes to the Senate for its consideration.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's 2023 State of the State address: Read the ...

Detroit Free Press

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivered her 2023 State of the State address Wednesday in the House chamber in the Michigan Capitol. Here's a transcript of her remarks as prepared for the speech she gave before elected leaders, state officials and invited guests.

Acknowledgments

Good evening, Michigan. It’s great to be back in the Capitol.

And it feels even better to be making history. I am honored to stand between Speaker Joe Tate and Majority Leader Winnie Brinks. Both are firsts—the first Black Speaker and the first woman Majority Leader. They will certainly not be the last.

Speaker Tate, Majority Leader Brinks, Minority Leader Hall, and Minority Leader Nesbitt—I look forward to our partnership centered on problem solving. It’s what Michiganders deserve.

Let’s also take a moment to honor our Michigan State Police and Michigan National Guard. They and their families all make sacrifices to keep us safe. We will always have their backs. We mean it.

We are calling on the Biden administration to keep supporting our guard members, their families, and the community. And continue to base a fighter mission at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County.

Now I want to acknowledge Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist, Attorney General Dana Nessel, and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson—you’ve been strong allies and great friends. I’m looking forward to more good work together.

Also want to acknowledge all our state employees, my cabinet, and executive office staff who work hard to move our state forward. Thank you.

SOTS

My fellow Michiganders. We spoke with a clear voice in November. We want the ability to raise a family without breaking the bank. Strong protections for our fundamental rights to: vote and control our own bodies. Leaders who will work across the aisle to solve problems and deliver on the issues that make a real difference in our lives.

Michiganders are facing the pinch right now: Picking up items at the store and putting them back before checking out. Having tough conversations about medical bills, prescription costs, and what paths their kids can afford after high school. We are all concerned about making sure we live in a safe neighborhood and have jobs and businesses in our towns next year and next decade.

We might not be able to solve inflation or supply chain issues on our own, but we must work together to lower costs and put Michiganders on the path to a brighter future. As I said in my inaugural address, Michiganders compete with an underdog spirit and carry ourselves with championship swagger. No challenge is too tough.

Tonight, let’s talk about what we can do and where we’re going, together. We are eager to chase our bright future with hustle and grit.

Michigan, the state of our state is: strong and ready to go.

Frame

My proposals tonight will; tackle the challenges people are facing right now, make a real difference in their lives, and make Michigan more competitive. This is our future. But policies alone mean nothing—it’s about the people they impact.

So, I’m not going to give you a list. Instead, let’s talk about what my proposals will mean to 3 groups of Michiganders with whom we can all identify.

1) Folks working hard to care for themselves and support their families.

2) Young people about to graduate.

And finally, 3) Michiganders born today.

THE WORKER

The #1 issue for folks trying to make ends meet is costs. Michiganders at home: I know how hard you work. I’ll get right to the point. Tonight, I am excited to announce “Lowering MI Costs,” a plan offering immediate relief. It’s got 3 parts.

First: let’s roll back the retirement tax, saving half a million households $1,000 a year.

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Second: let’s expand the Working Families Tax Credit, delivering at least $3,000 refunds to 700,000 families.

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And third: Pre-K for All to save families an average of $10,000 a year and ensure every 4-year-old in Michigan gets a great start.

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With inflation, every dollar saved makes a difference. That’s why we’re moving fast. Parts of the plan have already been introduced by Representatives Witwer and Shannon and Senators Hertel and McDonald Rivet. Let’s get it done.

Now let’s talk about what Lowering MI Costs means for you.

Retirement Tax

Repealing the retirement tax will make a huge difference for our seniors. Ultimately, it will save 500,000 households an average of $1,000 bucks a year. That’s money for prescriptions, groceries, gas, or gifts for grandkids. I fought this tax as a legislator and as governor because I knew it hurt people.

We need to get this done for Michiganders like Michael, a retired firefighter from Livonia. He was aghast when his retirement income was taxed. He spent his career putting his life on the line to pull his neighbors from burning buildings, and then the state changed the rules in the middle of the game, raising taxes on his hard-earned dollars.

Seniors who served, saved, and did everything right deserve to keep more of what they earned. Let’s get this done.

WFTC

The Working Families Tax Credit, formerly known as the EITC, is a bipartisan tax break at the federal and state level. Boosting it delivers an average refund of at least $3,000 to 700,000 families.

As we work together to build a brighter future, we need to lower costs and support every kind of family: those who have kids and those who do not. The Working Families Tax Credit benefits all kinds of families, and it directly impacts nearly 1 million children—almost half the kids in Michigan. It will put hundreds of millions back in family budgets to help with rent, school supplies, and food on the table.

Data shows boosting the Working Families Tax Credit also closes health and wealth gaps. Children who grow up with this support have better test scores, graduation rates, and earnings as adults.

The credit especially benefits single moms and working class families of every race in all 83 counties—from city centers to small towns. It is, in the words of President Reagan, “the best anti-poverty, the best pro-family, the best job creation measure.”

Make it Right

These 2 tax changes will right a wrong inflicted on Michiganders 12 years ago. In 2011, seniors and hardworking families had the rug ripped out from under them when the retirement tax was enacted and the Working Families Tax Credit was gutted. It was wrong. Now, we can make it right.

Preschool

Lowering MI Costs goes further to save people money. Part 3—pre-K for all—saves families an average of $10,000 a year compared to their current pre-K or child care.

Every parent knows an early start is critical to their child’s future. It’s why we: read, talk, and sing to our babies, worry about finding a great child care provider, and have wait lists for great preschools.

It’s why one of us showed up to work just hours after his daughter, Violet, was born—so he could keep fighting for all our kids. Representative Andrews , I hope you’re enjoying some well-deserved time with your baby. Congratulations to you and especially to your wife, Lora (Laura), another strong Michigan woman who is already an incredible mom.

Data shows that children who go to preschool are: more likely to graduate, earn a certificate or degree, and get a good-paying job. Preschool helps employers too, which is why so many business groups support it.

Unfortunately, affordable preschool is hard to find right now. 20 years ago, it was invaluable for me. Without it, I could not have raised my girls and continued my career. Most in this room could say the same. We were fortunate because we had access and could afford preschool. Every parent and every child in Michigan deserves the same because we all want what’s best for our kids.

Let’s expand our bipartisan preschool effort—the Great Start Readiness Program—so every 4-year-old in Michigan can access a free, public preschool education by the end of my second term.

This investment will ensure children arrive at kindergarten ready to learn and saves their families upwards of $10,000 a year. It helps parents, especially moms, go back to work. And it will launch hundreds more preschool classrooms across Michigan, supporting thousands of jobs.

Together, we can lower costs for Michiganders feeling the pain of inflation right now. For our seniors, families, and kids, let’s get this done.

THE GRADUATE

Now let’s turn to the Michiganders who recently graduated from high school or college. I’m looking at my daughters and thinking of all the young people in our state.

They're smart, engaged, and fighting for their future—record turnout on campuses last November proved it. I know Secretary of State Benson will ensure their voices—and the voices of every Michigander—are heard in every election. Together, we are going to expand voting rights, protect election workers, and build on last year’s bipartisan law to help military members and their families overseas have their votes counted.

To keep young Michiganders here and attract even more talent to Michigan, we must focus on 2 things: economic opportunity and personal freedom.

To deliver on these priorities, I am excited to announce: Make it in Michigan.

Economic Opportunity

First, opportunity. A quote from the 90’s: it’s the economy, stupid.

Ambitious young people have a lot of options when they graduate. As they decide where to live, we must make sure Michigan is the answer—not just for a few years but for the rest of their lives—by creating opportunity that lasts for decades.

Let’s start with the good news. Just over a year ago, in a bipartisan way, we came together to create powerful new tools to attract jobs and investment to Michigan. Since then, we have brought home over $13.5 billion worth of projects including: A chipmaker in Bay City. Battery plants in Big Rapids, Grand Rapids, and Van Buren Township. And Big 3 investments across Michigan. Heck, there’s a new GM battery plant being built just down the road. Our work is paying off, with nearly 13,000 good-paying jobs secured.

Make it in Michigan proposes a sustainable funding source for our economic development efforts while growing talent, making our communities better places to live, and helping our state become a place where anyone can thrive.

If we get this done, we can move faster year-round to compete and win cutting-edge manufacturing projects and bring more supply chains home. We can create opportunity for you and your family and support local economies and small businesses across our state. Businesses know that we must compete to grow, and when we do, we all win.

I am proud that we created powerful economic development tools and I know we will work together to make them the strongest in our state’s history. For too long, we were fighting with a hand tied behind our back. Now we’ve got the upper hand.

Compete with Everyone

Hustling for more projects is a solid first step. But building a strong economy is a marathon, not a sprint. If we want to play in the global market, we must go everywhere and compete with everyone.

The good news: competition is in our DNA. Whether it’s a local rec league or the global manufacturing market, Michiganders hustle. That spirit can be found in our hungry, passionate young people too. We can channel that energy to shore up Michigan as the world’s premier advanced manufacturing destination.

The last few years—with economic shocks in China and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—have demonstrated that a domestic supply of chips and energy is tied to national security.

That’s why over the last few weeks, I met with business leaders around the globe and across our nation. I told them what Michigan has to offer: Friendly, hardworking people. Unbeatable natural resources. A great quality of life at a good cost of living. But most of all, I told them that we will do what it takes to bring them to Michigan because our young people deserve the best opportunities in the world.

To quote our great senior Senator Debbie Stabenow, Michigan “makes stuff and grows stuff.” Let’s develop that core strength by manufacturing the building blocks of the future in Michigan. Let’s keep bringing supply chains of cars and chips home. And let’s increase domestic clean energy production, like wind and solar, so we can produce more energy in America instead of overseas.

Workforce Development

To help young people get jobs to “make stuff and grow stuff,” let’s support talent development and keep closing in on our 60 by 30 goal to have 60% of people earn a degree or skills certificate by 2030.

Let’s keep funding the bipartisan Michigan Achievement Scholarship, which lowers the cost of higher education—community college, private, or public university—by thousands of dollars for most students and makes college tuition-free for 65% of graduating seniors. Maybe you can use it to: study engineering at Michigan Tech, nursing at Alpena Community College, teaching at Saginaw Valley, or attend MSU’s #1 ranked supply chain program or U of M’s #1 ranked undergrad business program!

Let’s fund apprenticeships and initiatives that are putting nearly 200,000 Michiganders on tuition-free paths to higher education or skills training, helping them land good-paying, union jobs.

To help even more people “Make it in Michigan,” let’s take steps to lower the age for Michigan Reconnect from 25 to 21.

Reconnect is our bipartisan program that offers anyone 25 and older a tuition-free associate’s degree or skills training. I want to thank Senator Anthony for her work to establish and grow this program. Over 113,000 Reconnectors have been accepted, and we want that number to grow. Let’s unleash opportunity for young people while offering companies the skilled, hardworking talent they need to succeed in Michigan.

Essential Freedoms

The other half of attracting and retaining young people is standing up for their freedoms. Just a few months ago, Michiganders told us that people should be able to make their own decisions about their own bodies. Let’s get to work.

Let’s repeal our extreme 1931 law banning abortion.

I want to thank the Progressive Women’s Caucus for their leadership on this issue and Representative Pohutsky and Senator Geiss for introducing legislation to get it done.

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Let’s repeal other dangerous laws prohibiting people from accessing reproductive health care or shaming them for seeking it in the first place.

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Let’s repeal outdated laws restricting who you can marry.

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And let’s expand the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act so you can’t be fired or evicted against because of who you are or how you identify.

I called for this in my first State of the State back in 2019. I want to thank Senator Moss and Representative Hoskins for introducing this bill. It’s about damn time we got it done.

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Protecting these freedoms is the right thing to do and it’s just good economics. States with extreme laws are losing talent and investment because bigotry is bad for business. We should build on our reputation as a welcoming beacon of opportunity where anyone can succeed.

I know talent development is a personal priority for Lieutenant Governor Gilchrist, and I look forward to working with him so we can help people see their futures in Michigan.

I’ve also heard from folks like Lauren, who grew up in Traverse City and wants to move back to start a family but waited until she knew her reproductive rights would be protected. Lauren, I want you and anyone living in a state that wants to control your body or deny your existence to know that Michigan has a place for you.

Together, we are going to change Michigan from a state with century-old bans to forward looking protections.

Our message is simple: we will fight for your freedom. And you know what? Let’s go on offense. I’ll go to any state that restricts people’s freedoms and win business and hardworking people from them. I’m looking at you, Ohio and Indiana.

Every parent—Republican, Democrat, or Independent—wants our kids to stay in Michigan. Let’s give them reasons to stay beyond the promise of a home-cooked meal or free laundry facilities. Let’s expand economic opportunity and protect fundamental freedoms.

THE KID

Now that we’ve talked about folks working to make ends meet and young people choosing where to build their lives, I want to talk about the littlest Michiganders.

A baby born down the street at Sparrow today could live past the year 2100. What will they see in that time? More Stanley Cups for the Wings? A Super Bowl for the Lions? More World Series for the Tigers? Hey, we can dream. All I know is that Izzo will still be coaching.

Truth is, we have no idea what kids born today will live through. Heck, when I was here 3 years ago we had no idea what we were about to live through. What we do know, however, is we can act now to set them up for success.

A lot will change by the year 2100, but what every child needs to succeed will not.

Tonight, I’m proposing bold investments in public safety and education to make sure a child born today lives in a safe neighborhood and can get a great public education.

Every Kid, Every School

Over the last 4 years, we made record investments in our children and schools by leading with our shared values: We closed the funding gap between schools and brought student investment to an all-time high—4 years in a row without raising taxes. We made a generational investment to build new libraries and labs and improve air in classrooms and water from drinking fountains. We funded mental health and campus safety at record levels.

We set up fellowships and started paying our student teachers. Student teacher stipends are already making a difference for future educators like Zahara (zaa-haa-rah) from Canton, who uses the money to pay her bills as she gears up to enter the classroom. Zahara—we’re rooting for you! And we will continue having your back and growing the profession, so every classroom has a caring, qualified educator.

In the months ahead, we will deliver another strong education budget. But we must do more.

MI Kids Back on Track

Let’s fund MI Kids Back on Track, to offer every child personalized learning support to get them back on track for long-term success. I want to thank Representative Haadsma for championing this issue.

When a child gets a great start, learns to read, and graduates high school, they are on track to land a good-paying job or pursue higher education. Unfortunately, the last few years have disrupted regular learning patterns. In-class instruction alone is not enough—our children need more support to master the skills we know they need most.

Investing in tutoring, after-school programs, and other learning supports gets children 1-on-1 time with a caring, qualified educator that they need to succeed.

Whether you’re a 3rd grader learning about the solar system, a 6th grader focusing on fractions, or a junior sharpening persuasive writing skills—tutoring addresses your specific learning challenges.

And we know that education investments matter to the private sector too. Employers know that today’s students are tomorrow’s workforce and entrepreneurs. We need tutoring to get our kids back on track for Michigan’s long-term economic success.

Let’s fund MI Kids Back on Track before spring break.

Public Safety

Now let’s talk about public safety.

As a former prosecutor, public safety is a top priority for me. I will work hard to make sure everyone can get home at the end of the day. And I am proud to have a strong partner in Attorney General Nessel. She prosecutes violent criminals, is shoring up consumer protections, and faces down anyone who tries to harm Michiganders.

Since I’ve been governor, we’ve invested $1 billion in public safety. Let’s continue funding law enforcement with better training, oversight, and access to mental health resources. Police officers, state troopers, and prosecutors have tough, dangerous jobs, and if we work together, we get them what they need to keep our communities safe.

Guns

Right now, there is a flood of illegal guns on our streets. There’s been a rise of break-ins at gun dealerships and straw purchases, where one person illegally buys a firearm for another. Firearms are getting more dangerous too, thanks to 3D printed technology called Glock switches that turn semi-automatic weapons fully automatic.

That’s why we launched Operation Safe Neighborhoods, taking hundreds of illegal firearms off the street before they could be used in the commission of a crime. But we must do more so the world our kids inherit is not more violent than the one we inhabit now.

The time for only thoughts and prayers is over. It’s time for commonsense action to reduce gun violence in our communities.

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Let’s enact universal background checks for people who want to buy firearms.

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Let’s enact safe storage laws so we can make sure firearms are stored safely at home.

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And let’s enact extreme risk protection orders, so we can keep guns out of the hands of those who might represent a danger to themselves or others. If Florida and Indiana can get this done, we sure can, right?

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Despite pleas from Oxford families, these issues never even got a hearing in the legislature. This year, let’s change that and work together to stop the violence and save lives. I want to thank Senator Bayer and Representative Brabec for their leadership on this issue.

And I want to be very clear—I’m not talking about law-abiding citizens. Hunters and responsible gun owners from both sides of the aisle know that we need to get these commonsense gun safety proposals across the finish line.

We need to do this for our kids, like Zyaire (zai-year) from Plymouth, who wrote to me and said that he just wants to feel safe going to school to learn. Zyaire—we will get this done so you and your classmates can focus on learning and growing.

Infrastructure

Tonight, I spoke to 3 groups of Michiganders we can all see ourselves in. I proposed that we Lower MI Costs, Make it in Michigan, and fund public safety and education.

There are many more priorities I will share in my budget proposal. But I want to highlight 2 more tonight that impact us all: infrastructure and climate.

If you haven’t heard, roads are pretty important to me and every Michigander—our state flower might as well be an orange barrel! Since I took office, we’ve fixed 16,000 lane miles and 1,200 bridges, supporting 89,000 jobs. Throughout my second term, I will continue finding ways to keep fixing the damn roads. And as we fix them, let’s build the most innovative transportation systems in the country. With new smart road technology, we can avert hundreds of crashes and get the next-generation of made-in-Michigan vehicles on the road.

We also have billions in federal resources from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law headed our way. To invest them as efficiently as possible, I established the Michigan Infrastructure Office. This year, it will redouble its efforts, helping to build up every kind of infrastructure—roads, high-speed internet, clean energy, and lead-free pipes.

Last, but certainly not least, it is our shared duty to face climate change head-on and protect our land and water. We must pursue climate action while creating jobs, lowering costs, and becoming a hub of clean energy production. Last year, we unveiled the MI Healthy Climate Plan, and this year, we should make bold investments in climate action to deliver on its targets. Let’s get it done.

CLOSE

I am honored to be standing here tonight as your governor. I will work with anyone who’s serious about solving problems to move Michigan forward. Before I go, I want to talk about an American superpower—belief.

I’ve always been a hopeful person. I believe in our bright future. I write in my gratitude journal every day and insist on quoting Ted Lasso, much to my staff’s chagrin and occasional delight.

Don’t get me wrong—I’m not naïve. Over the last 4 years, we’ve faced historic challenges and seen the visceral consequences of political division. But the prevailing take now seems to be that things will get worse. Fatalism is in vogue as people wonder aloud whether America’s best days are behind her.

I reject that. We cannot mistake pessimism for intelligence. And we must never forget who we are.

My fellow Michiganders, we live in a special place. Our beautiful state has played host to so much progress because of our unbreakable, hopeful spirit.

As the world grapples with big challenges and asks itself tough questions, our responsibility as Michiganders is to roll up our sleeves and do the work.

On May 31, 1907, that’s exactly what President Teddy Roosevelt reminded us at a speech just down the road at Michigan Agricultural College, known as MSU today. He said, “I believe in the happiness that comes from the performance of duty, not the avoidance of duty. But I also believe in trying, each of us, as strength is given us, to bear one another’s burdens.”

Michigan—let’s embrace our duty.

Let’s show everyone that the cure for cynicism is competence.

Let’s lead by example as a state of hardworking, happy warriors.

As Coach Campbell said, we know what we are.

So, whether it’s your buffs, the map decal on your car, or your GRIT hat… Let’s show the world: We are Michiganders and nothing gets in our way.

Thank you and goodnight!