Massachusetts Innovation Economy Benefits from Obama Vision
 
WASHINGTON (February 12, 2013) – Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today said that the policies and goals laid out by President Barack Obama in his State of the Union address would benefit Massachusetts’ innovation economy, while making our communities and planet safer for our kids and generations to come. Rep. Markey’s guest at the address was Ann Marie Crowell, a Massachusetts resident who lost a son to gun violence in 1997.
 
Rep. Markey is the co-author of the only climate change bill to pass a chamber of Congress, has pushed for the reduction of nuclear weapons, and has recently called for a vote in the House on the president’s gun control package.
 
Below is the statement of Rep. Markey:
 
“In his first term, President Obama won historic victories on health care, Wall Street reform, helped pull America out of the worst recession since the Great Depression, and moved America towards a clean energy economy. Tonight, the President demonstrated that he is clearly ready to take on more challenges in his second term. This is not a president cowed by the Tea Party Republicans, and I will stand with him to push an innovation-based agenda that will lead to economic growth across America.
 
“By embracing action on gun control, climate change, clean energy, and cyber security, President Obama knows we still need to ensure our communities, kids, and planet are all safer. I continue to join the president in the push to bring his gun control recommendations up for a vote here in Congress, and I will not stop until we hold those votes and get these deadly weapons off of our streets. That’s why tonight I brought to this address Ann Marie Crowell of Massachusetts, the mother of a gun violence victim, because she and all other Americans affected by gun violence deserve a vote.
 
“The president is right that America needs a response to climate change, and that it isn’t too late to act. The choice for polluters is the same that it has been for years. We can either pass market-based legislation in Congress or the Obama administration will continue to directly reduce heat-trapping pollution. Defeating climate change will be a triumph of technological optimism over fossil fueled pessimism and will unleash a clean energy revolution that will create jobs and assert our energy independence. I stand ready with President Obama to aggressively address climate change and create American clean energy jobs that can’t be sent overseas.
 
“President Obama also understands that the time is now to stop spending billions on radioactive relics of the past that no longer keep us safe, and instead focus on the real security threats -- both at home and abroad — that we face in the 21st century.
 
“I commend the president for taking all action he can to secure the nation's electricity grid from the sort of cyber attack that could leave American cities in blackouts that could last months. I also urge my colleagues to respond to the president's recognition that congressional action is also needed to fully respond to this most dangerous threat.  I stand ready to work to pass the bipartisan 2010 GRID Act, which I co-authored with Republican Fred Upton and which passed the House overwhelmingly, to give federal authorities the tools they need to secure our power grid from cyber attacks.
 
“Massachusetts has a long tradition of innovation, and President Obama’s agenda will improve the lives of everyone in the Commonwealth by promoting hard work and investing in the technologies and skills for the jobs of the future.”