Members of Hawaii’s Congressional team praised Pres. Joe Biden’s third State of the Union address Thursday for its earnest take on the challenges ahead for the county and the need for bipartisan cooperation to address them.

What You Need To Know

  • U.S. Rep. Ed Case said Case called the president's State of the Union address “strong and direct” and noted its honest accounting of the country’s ongoing challenges, areas of progress and opportunities to advance

  • While assessments of Biden’s speech broke predictably along party lines, political observers generally gave the president positive marks for a forceful, coherent delivery that served as a counterpoint to assertions that he’s too old to serve another term

  • U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz noted Biden’s reminder of the accomplishments his administration has achieved in its first three years

  • In an effort to call attention to increasing threats to abortion rights, Schatz invited Olivia Manayan, an OB-GYN chief resident at the University of Hawaii, to attend the address with him

 

“For me the best parts of his speech were in acknowledging this difficult time in our history, the forks in the road we face and the consequences of the choices we make, in calling on us all to seize the future together rather than retreat into the past, and in telling our friends and adversaries abroad that America will not walk away from our commitment to international leadership,” said U.S. Rep. Ed Case in a statement released on Thursday.

Case called Biden’s overall speech “strong and direct” and noted its honest accounting of the country’s ongoing challenges, areas of progress and opportunities to advance.

While assessments of Biden’s speech broke predictably along party lines, political observers generally gave the president positive marks for a forceful delivery that served as a counterpoint to assertions that he’s too old to serve another term.

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz noted Biden’s reminder of the accomplishments his administration has achieved in its first three years.

“Tonight, we heard President Biden highlight the historic progress we made in just three years,” Case said. “We grew jobs at a record pace, cut the cost of prescription drugs, enacted the biggest climate action in history, improved health care for veterans and delivered billions in new funding for Hawaii, among other things.

“But just as the president said: There is still more work to do,” Schatz said. “That includes cutting costs for families, making housing more affordable, restoring reproductive freedom across the country, protecting kids on social media, and further asserting American leadership abroad, including stopping Putin’s assault on Ukraine and delivering more urgently needed humanitarian aid to Gaza.”

Schatz encouraged his congressional colleagues to heed the president’s call for unity and to support his proposals.

In an effort to call attention to increasing threats to abortion rights, Schatz invited Olivia Manayan, an OB-GYN chief resident at the University of Hawaii, to attend the address with him.

Manayan is scheduled to begin next year her specialization in complex family planning with a focus on abortion training, complex contraception and reproductive justice.

“With reproductive rights under attack by the far-right across the country, OB-GYNs practicing in Republican-controlled states are being criminalized just for providing basic health care,” Schatz said. “I’m proud to have Dr. Manayan join me for the State of the Union to highlight the live-saving care doctors like her provide to women and families every day.”

Schatz joined six other Democratic senators in inviting guests whose stories are representative of the fight for reproductive rights. The others included Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. and Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash.; Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill.; Tina Smith, D-Minn.; Tim Kaine, D-Va.; and Cory Booker, D-N.J.

“While we are lucky to have strong abortion rights protections in Hawaii, the attacks on reproductive health, in addition to violating every pregnant capable person’s right to bodily autonomy, will impact our ability to deliver care, including access to safe medications like mifepristone,” Manayan said. “Abortion is health care, and health care is a fundamental human right. I’m proud to stand with Senator Schatz and represent OB-GYN providers in Hawaii and across the country."

Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at michael.tsai@charter.com.