January 12, 2016

January 12, 2016

Topline Message
The State of the Union is Strong. After seven years of Democratic leadership in the White House, our country is more secure than ever, the economy is adding jobs at a record pace, and the American people are safer and healthier than ever before.
While Republican presidential candidates continue their doom and gloom race to the bottom, President Obama is going to remind us that our best days are still ahead. The American people have come too far to let a Republican drag us back. But we have to elect a Democrat as the 45th President to keep America moving forward.

Key Points
• We’ve made remarkable progress since President Obama took office seven years ago. Americans today are better off and more secure than before he took office
o Nationally
o Economically
o Personally
• When the last Republican President left office, our country was losing 800,000 jobs a month — 8 million lost in total in the Bush recession — whileforeclosure signs littered streets across America, and too many Americans had to choose between bankruptcy and health care.
• Under President Obama:
o America has enjoyed 70 months in a row of private sector job growth, creating more than 14 million new jobs.
o We’ve added more net private sector jobs in the last 12 WEEKS [851K] – than were added in the last 12 YEARS of Republican Administrations [747K]
o Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, more than 17 million Americans have healthcare coverage they didn’t have, no one can be turned away for preexisting conditions, and our uninsured rate is the lowest ever recorded.
o And just last week the President took executive action to turn the tide against the gun violence affecting so many of our communities by keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill.
• So when you hear doom and gloom from Republican candidates, remember, the American people have come too far, fought too hard. They’ve already made America great.
• Tomorrow we’ll hear the State of our Union is strong. There’s still much to do to ensure every American has a fair shot, and that’s what’s at stake in these elections.
• We need to keep America moving forward, not let a Republican president drag us back.

Expanded Talking Points
• There’s still much to do…
o to build an economy that gives everyone in America a fair shot.
o to make America safer by using all the elements of our national power without offending our allies and alienating those we need to bring terrorists to justice.
o to strengthen the economic security of every community so that no one has to worry that they’ll graduate college only to be burdened by student loans, or face bankruptcy because they get sick, or be fired simply based on who they love.
• We need a President who keeps the economic, personal and national security of the American people moving forward.
• The last thing we need is a Republican President to drag us backwards.
• Whether it’s Trump, Rubio, Cruz, or any of the other Republican presidential candidates, each of them would:
o repeal the Affordable Care Act, causing 19 million people to lose their health insurance.
o return to the same failed economic policies of George W. Bush that were in place when we were losing 800,000 jobs a month.
o defund Planned Parenthood, oppose equal pay for women, roll back equality for the LGBT community, and gut voting rights laws.
o continue to stall comprehensive immigration reform.
o block commonsense reforms to curtail gun violence, at a time when 33,000 Americans per year are being killed by guns.
o And every single one would take us back to the reckless, go-it-alone foreign policy that destabilized the Middle East in the first place.
• Tomorrow night, the Republican Party’s response to President Obama’s speech will come from South Carolina Governor, Nikki Haley.
• Haley has wreaked havoc on the economy in her state, and exemplifies exactly why the we don’t need a Republican president making the same mistakes at the national level.

January 7, 2016

Sacramento, CA – Senator Mike McGuire and Assemblymember Bill Dodd announced that the Governor’s budget, released this morning, includes millions of dollars to assist Lake County in the long recovery from the devastating Valley Fire.

Since the start of the Valley Fire – the third most destructive in state history – Dodd and McGuire have been active on the ground in Lake County working to ensure residents have the resources they need to recover and rebuild.
Specifically, the budget includes $1.3 million to cover lost property, sales and bed tax revenue for Lake County. The Valley Fire damaged or destroyed more than 1,900 structures including homes, apartment buildings and multiple businesses, resulting in over $1 billion in damage and significant lost tax revenue for the county as well as other special districts.

The budget also includes $2.2 million for the South Lake County Fire Protection District, which is located in the heart of the Valley Fire burn zone. The Fire District needed these funds to ensure the residents of the region continue to receive robust fire and emergency services throughout the year.
The State has also committed additional CALFIRE personnel in the Valley Fire zone. These enhanced staffing levels – which have already been embedded in the District – will ensure residents have the emergency resources needed to respond to any El Niño related storm impacts.

“Assemblymember Dodd and I have been working overtime with the Governor’s Office to ensure Lake County has the resources needed to recover, rebuild and thrive,” Senator McGuire said. “These funds will be immediately put to work to ensure the county and emergency services don’t miss a beat serving local communities. We’re grateful for the partnership with Governor Brown and appreciate his continued dedication to Lake County.”
Senator McGuire and Assemblymember Dodd worked with the Governor’s office and Lake County officials – for the last several months – to secure this budget allocation.

“When natural disasters strike, it’s critical the state of California helps impacted communities, and receiving these funds in Governor Brown’s budget is a critical step towards recovery from the Valley Fire,” Assemblymember Dodd said. “These funds will help residents receive critical services, especially fire protection and emergency services. Senator McGuire has been a great partner in advocating for our communities, and we will continue fighting to get the residents of Lake County the help they need to recover and thrive.”
In addition to the $3.5 million allocated in the Governor’s budget for Lake County property tax relief due to the Valley Fire, schools in Lake County will receive property tax backfill funding from Proposition 98, which is the previously guaranteed source of funding to cover lost property tax revenues for school districts.

January 5, 2016

January 01, 2016
WASHINGTON, DC — In this week’s address, the President reflected on the progress of the past year, and looked forward to working on unfinished business in the coming year, particularly when it comes to the epidemic of gun violence. As he has many times before, the President reminded us that Congress has repeatedly failed to take action and pass laws that would reduce gun violence. That’s why the President a few months ago tasked his White House team with identifying new actions he can take to help reduce gun violence, and on Monday will meet with the Attorney General to discuss the options. In his address, the President called on everyone to join him in the fight to reduce gun violence, because it’s going to take all of us to make America safer for our children.

December 5, 2015

WASHINGTON, DC — In this week’s address, the President offered his condolences to the families and community of the victims of the San Bernardino shooting.   He recognized the possibility that the two attackers may have been radicalized, a reminder to all of us that we need to work together to prevent people from falling victim to attempts by extremist organizations to encourage violence.  The President called on Congress to close the loophole that allows people on the No-Fly list to purchase guns, a simple and logical step that would make it harder for potential terrorists to acquire weapons.  And he reminded us that we cannot accept mass shootings like this one as routine in our country, and emphasized that above all else, his priority is the safety and security of the American people.

November 14, 2015

WASHINGTON, DC — In this week’s address, President Obama honored our nation’s veterans, who have served and sacrificed in defense of our country. This past week, Americans came together on Veterans Day to pay tribute to those men and women in uniform who have risked their lives to protect our freedom.  In recent years we’ve worked to reduce the veterans’ unemployment rate to 3.9 percent and slash the disability claims backlog at the VA by nearly 90 percent from its peak.  But there is still more that can be done.  Since day one of his Administration, the President has remained committed to serving the brave men and women who have served us.  And in his address, he reminded us that we all have a role to play in ensuring that veterans have the opportunities and support they deserve.