Battleground CD-7 incumbent U.S. Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-7) responded to President Biden’s 2022 State of the Union address.

“Tonight, President Biden called on Americans to unite in defending freedom in the world, and building a more resilient economy at home. As America emerges from the pandemic, while confronting a new national security crisis in Europe, we must bring home manufacturing supply chains and become less dependent on foreign supplies of energy. As the president said, it’s time to ‘make it in America’ – to lower costs for American consumers, to reduce our vulnerability to global upheaval, and to regain the strength our nation needs to lead the world. I look forward to working with him to pass the America COMPETES Act, including bipartisan provisions I co-authored to bring manufacturing of critical technologies back home to America.

“The United States is experiencing the fastest job growth in our history, the fastest economic growth in nearly 40 years, and a faster recovery from the pandemic than every other advanced nation. But we must be straight with the American people that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine will affect our economy, including by contributing to rising gas prices. President Biden is rightly calling on Congress to send him legislation that softens the blow.

“The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law last year, is funding investments in our ports, airports, and transportation infrastructure that will enable goods to move faster and cheaper, reducing supply chain bottlenecks. The America COMPETES Act will help even more, by funding an aggressive effort to end the microchip shortage that has spurred rising prices of cars and other consumer goods, as well as my proposal to support domestic manufacturing of other goods critical to our supply chains. These bills will create good-paying jobs in New Jersey, while reducing our reliance on countries like China and Russia in times of crisis.

“From solar panels, to microchips, and the aerospace technologies that will take America back to the Moon, our district is already a leader in manufacturing the technologies America needs to be more competitive, and to win the race to a clean energy future. While I agree with the president’s immediate efforts to reduce gas prices, by releasing oil from our reserves and encouraging key U.S. partners to increase oil production, it is simply not possible to drill our way to energy independence. Transitioning to renewables has long been important to protect our environment. But it is also a huge economic opportunity for our state and, in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a national security imperative as well. The only way to break free of foreign energy blackmail, whether from Russia or any other country, is for America to become the world’s clean energy superpower.

“The world is uniting with America to meet a challenge abroad, and I’m hopeful that Americans will rise to the challenge by uniting as well. I look forward to working with President Biden to advance his agenda for building a better and stronger America.”