Senator Boxer said: "Tonight we saw a confident President Obama lay out a bold and optimistic vision for our country's future. And he has good reason to be confident - the unemployment rate has fallen to 5.6 percent, we have had the longest streak of recorded private sector job gains in American history and the deficit has been cut by nearly two-thirds.

"I strongly support his plan to boost the middle class by raising the minimum wage, tripling the child care tax credit and investing in our infrastructure. I agree with the President that we should set our sights higher than helping Canadian special interests build the Keystone tar sands pipeline and instead pass a long-term transportation bill that will support millions of jobs.

"I also applaud him for standing up to Republican threats to repeal Obamacare, repeal Wall Street reform and break up millions of loving families by repealing his immigration executive orders.

"His comments on climate change were a breath of fresh air. He clearly understands that we must act now to protect our families and future generations from the worst impacts of climate change.

"The President showed his leadership when he talked about America leading a united world in confronting the threat of terrorism. Now Republicans in Congress must stop playing politics and pass a Homeland Security Appropriations bill that protects the American people."

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