Bipartisanship was a key focus of President Joe Biden's speech something Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand told reporters ahead of the address that she expected — saying that even though Congress is divided, Republicans and Democrats share common interests.
"Rewarding people who do step ahead and do the hard work of working on a bipartisan basis is very important," Gillibrand said. "Of all our successes last year, only one was Democratic only."
During his speech, Biden highlighted the CHIPS and Science act as one example of bipartisan legislation.
"With this new law, we're going to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs across the country and I mean all across the country," Biden said. "Throughout not just the coast but through the middle of the country as well. That’s going to come from companies that have announced more than $300 billion in investments in American manufacturing over the next few years."
The CHIPS and Science Act helped usher in Micron's $100 billion investment in central New York for semiconductor fabrication plants in the Town of Clay.
Central New York Republican Rep. Brandon Williams (NY-22), who attended his first State of the Union address, said in a statement he was happy the president took the time to highlight historic investments like Micron's, but said inflation, gas prices, crime and fentanyl and the border still need to be addressed.
"Finishing the job means delivering bipartisan results for central New York and Mohawk Valley," Williams said in the statement. Williams was not available for interview at the time of this publication.
Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney (NY-24) agreed, mentioning inflation's impact on upstate New Yorkers and critiquing the president's lack of comments regarding the Chinese spy balloon and Taiwan's connection to chip manufacturing.
"I didn't think there were a lot of solutions for the middle-class taxpayers, the farmers, the small business owners," Tenney said in an interview after the speech.
But despite some of her disappointment in the speech, Tenney said she did see some highlights of Biden's acknowledgment of the fentanyl crisis and the need for it to be addressed.
"I think he was trying to really find some common ground and recognize that this is a huge problem and it's something we need to do something about," Tenney said. "I just hope that he realizes that the border is a huge part of that."
Tenney also noted the president's push for members to work together saying as they address spending and the debt ceiling, she hopes to see good negotiations.
