WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) issued the following statement in response to President Joe Biden’s address before a joint session of Congress this evening:

“Tonight, President Biden made clear that our goal as a country cannot simply be to end this pandemic and return to business usual – we must build back better. We must build a more equitable nation, one that roots out the disparities laid bare by this pandemic, protects our voting rights, ensures equal justice for all, and gives everyone a fair shot at the American dream.

“We must invest in 21^st century infrastructure that connects communities of all backgrounds to greater economic opportunity and prepares American businesses and workers to compete globally. We must restore our commitment to the middle class and all those striving to join it with policies that strengthen families, like affordable child care, universal pre-K, and free community college.

“We must treat climate change not only as a challenge but also as an opportunity to restore American leadership around the world and create millions of new green jobs here at home. And we must provide the undocumented immigrants who picked our produce, packed our meat, cared for the sick and kept our country afloat during this pandemic with a path to citizenship that will unleash their full potential to grow our economy.

“From combating climate change to preventing gun violence, what I heard from the President tonight was not a divisive agenda but rather a platform of policies that enjoy tremendous bipartisan support from Americans in every corner of this country. They want real action and tangible progress and Democrats stand ready to deliver. I can only hope that my Republican colleagues come to recognize that we have so much more to gain as a country by working with each other instead of against each other.”