Excerpts from Texas Congresswoman Veronica Escobar’s Spanish Democratic Response to President Trump’s State of the Union
Here in Texas, Republican leaders have refused to lift a finger to improve access to affordable, quality health care. In my state, the expansion of Medicaid would provide care for hundreds of thousands of Texans.
And at the same time, Republicans across the nation are actively fighting to dismantle benefits that save lives, working in the courts to eliminate every last protection of the Affordable Care Act, including protections for the 130 million people with pre-existing conditions.
Democrats are fighting back. In the first year of our House Majority, Democrats passed sweeping legislation to dramatically reduce the price of prescription drugs, shore up protections for people with pre-existing conditions and crack down on shoddy short-term health insurance plans – what we call ‘junk plans.’
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Democrats also know that too many families are struggling to get by in our economy. President Trump’s economic policies have created inequality that is creating two Americas: one where the wealthiest 1% benefit and one that leaves too many farmers, businesses, and working families behind.
And at the same time, instead of investing in our children’s future and in opportunity, the President has exploded the debt by more than $3 trillion – all to give billion-dollar tax cuts to the wealthiest few.
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On August 3rd of last year, El Paso suffered from the deadliest targeted attack against Latinos in American history. A domestic terrorist confessed to driving over 10 hours to target Mexicans and immigrants. Just before he began his killing spree, he posted his views online and used hateful language like the very words used by President Trump to describe immigrants and Latinos.
That day, the killer took 22 innocent lives, injured dozens, and broke all of our hearts.
Incidents of gun violence take place in our schools, places of worship and neighborhoods every single day.
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We know that President Trump violated his oath by asking for foreign interference, jeopardizing the integrity of our elections, putting our national security at risk, and then attempting to cover up his wrongdoing.
This is a tragic moment, and Congress must defend our republic.
We Democrats will continue to fight for truth and for what is right.
No one is above the law.
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From attacks against Dreamers, family separation, the deaths of migrant children, to the Remain in Mexico policy that sends asylum seekers into dangerous situations. These are policies none of us ever imagined would happen in America in our lifetime.
I remember seeing the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island for the first time. I was in awe of Lady Liberty. She stands as the guardian of our ideals – that all people are created equal, that the vulnerable are to be cared for and not shunned, and that America is the shining example of goodness.
It is up to all of us – in the face of one of the most challenging times in history – to reflect the dignity, grace of Lady Liberty and the values of America.
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