Ensuring our future prosperity means out-innovating and out-educating the rest of the world.  We need to unite behind a fiscally responsible strategy that invests in education, clean energy and infrastructure to create jobs and lay the foundation for American success.

Specifically, I fully support the President’s call to build on our past investments in making college affordable for all Americans students.  Not only should Congress make the $10,000 tuition tax credit permanent, we must also protect Pell Grants, Perkins Loans, and all of the tools that help our best and brightest succeed and innovate.

Also critically important is the President’s call to “redouble” our efforts to build a 21st century transportation network.  Fully paid-for infrastructure investments will put the struggling construction industry back to work today and help private enterprise create the jobs of the future, just as the Interstate Highway System served as a pathway to prosperity when it was begun more than fifty years ago.

Editor’s Note: The above is a statement issued by Congressman Tim Bishop (D-Southampton) following the State of the Union address Tuesday night.