Michigan's freshman Senator Alysa sloin will deliver the Democratic response to president Trump's address to the Joint session of Congress senator Chuck Schumer calling her a rising star in the party at age 48 she became the youngest Democratic woman elected to the Senate she previously served in the house before that she served as a CIA analyst in Iraq now her task tonight delivering a solid Democratic message of course uh sitting setting forth the party's agenda if they hope to proclaim the house and the Senate let's listen hi everyone I'm Melissa slotkin I'm honored to have the
opportunity to speak tonight it's late so I promise to be a lot shorter than what you just watched I won't take it personally if you've never heard of me I'm the new senator from the great state of Michigan where I grew up I've been in public service my entire life because I happen to be in New York City on 9911 when the Twin Towers came down before the smoke cleared I knew I wanted to make a life in National Security I was recruited by the CIA and did three tours in Iraq alongside the military in
between I worked at the White House under President Bush and President Obama two very different leaders who both believed that America is exceptional you can find that same sense of patriotism here in W and. Michigan where I'm speaking from tonight it's a working class town just south of Detroit president Trump and I both won here in November it might not seem like it but plenty of places like this still exist across the United States places where people believe that if you work hard and play by the the rules you should do well and your kids
should do better it reminds me of how I grew up my dad was a lifelong Republican by Mom a lifelong Democrat but it was never a big deal because we had shared values that were bigger than any one party we just went through another fraught election season Americans made it clear that prices are too high and that the government needs to be more responsive to their needs America wants change but there's a responsible way to make change and a reckless way and we can make that change without forgetting who we are as a country and
as a democracy so that's what I'm going to lay out tonight because whether you're from W and do or witch itah most Americans share Three core beliefs that the middle class is the engine of our country that strong National Security protects us from harm and that our democracy no matter how messy is unparalleled and worth fighting for let's start with economy Michigan literally invented the middle class the Revolutionary idea that you could work at an autop plant and afford the car you were building that's the American dream and in order to expand and protect the
middle class we have to do a few basic things we need to bring down the price of things we spend the most money on groceries housing Healthcare we need to make more things in America with good paying union jobs and bring our supply chains back home from places like China we need to give give American businesses the certainty they need to invest and create the jobs of the future and we need a tax system that's fair for people who don't happen to make a billion dollars look the president talked a big game on the economy
but it's always important to read the fine print so do his plans actually help Americans get ahead not even close president Trump is trying to deliver an unprecedented giveaway to his billionaire friends he's on the hunt to find trillions of dollars to pass along to the wealthiest in America and to do that he's going to make you pay in every part of your life Grocery and home prices are going up not down and he hasn't laid out a credible plan to deal with either of those his tariffs on allies like Canada will raise prices on
energy Lumber and cars and start a trade war that will hurt manufacturing and Farmers your premiums and prescriptions will cost more because the math on his proposals doesn't work without going after your healthare meanwhile for those keeping score the national debt is going up not down and if he's not careful he could walk us right into a recession and one more thing in order to pay for his plan he could very well come after your retirement the Social Security Medicare and VA benefits you worked your whole life to earn the president claims he won't but
Elon Musk just called Social Security the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time while we're on the subject of Elon Musk is there anyone in America who is comfortable with him and his gang of 20-year-olds using their own computer servers to poke through your tax returns your health information and your bank accounts no oversight no protections against cyber attack no guard rails on what they do with your private data we need a more efficient government you want to cut waste I'll help you do it but change doesn't need to be chaotic or make us less safe
the mindless firing of people who work to protect our nuclear weapons keep our planes from crashing and conduct the research that finds the cure for cancer only to rehire them two days later no CEO in America could do that without being summarily fired Okay so we've talked about Economic Security how about National Security let's start with the Border as someone who spent my whole career protecting our homeland every country deserves to know who and what is coming across its border period Democrats and Republicans should all be for that but securing the Border without actually fixing
our broken immigration system is dealing with the symptom and not the disease America is a nation of immigrants we need a functional system keyed to the needs of our economy that allows vetted people to come and work here legally so I look forward to the president's plan on that because here's the thing today's world is deeply interconnected migration side cyber threats AI environmental destruction terrorism One Nation cannot face these issues alone we need friends in all corners and our safety depends on it president Trump loves to say peace through strength that's actually a line he
stole from Ronald Reagan but let me tell you after the spectacle that just took place in the Oval Office last week Reagan must be rolling in his grave we all want an end to the war in Ukraine but Reagan understood that true strength required America to combine our military and economic might with moral Clarity and that scene in the Oval Office wasn't just a bad episode of reality TV it summed up Trump's whole approach to the world he believes in cozing up to dictators like Vladimir Putin and kicking our friends like the can Canadians in
the teeth he sees American leadership as merely a series of real estate transactions as a Cold War Kid I'm thankful it was Reagan and not Trump in office in the 1980s Trump would have lost us the Cold War Donald Trump's actions suggest that in his heart he doesn't believe we're an exceptional Nation he clearly doesn't think we should lead the world look America is not perfect but I stand with the majority of Americans who believe we are still exceptional unparalleled and I would rather have American leadership over Chinese or Russian leadership any day of the
week because for Generations America has offered something better our security and our prosperity yes but our democracy our very system of government has been the aspiration of the world and right now it's at risk it's at risk when the president decides you could pick and choose what rules you want to follow when he ignores court orders and the Constitution itself or when elected leaders stand by and just let it happen but it's also at risk when the president pits Americans against each other when he demonizes those who are different and tells certain people they shouldn't
be included because America is not just a patch of land between two oceans we are more than that Generations have fought and died to secure the fundamental rights that Define us those rights and the fight for them make us who we are we're a nation of Strivers Risk Takers innovators and we are never satisfied that is America's superpower and look I've lived and worked in many countries I've seen democracies flicker out I've seen what life is like when a government is rigged you can't open a business without paying off a corrupt official you can't criticize
the guys in charge without getting a knock at the door in the middle of the night so as much as we need to make our government more responsive to our lives today don't for one moment fool yourself that democracy isn't precious and worth saving but how do we actually do that I know a lot lot of you have been asking that question first don't tune out it's easy to be exhausted but America needs you now more than ever if previous generations had not fought for this democracy where would we be today second hold your elected
officials including me accountable watch how they're voting go to town halls and demand they take action that's as American as apple pie third organize pick just one issue you're passionate about and engage and doom scrolling doesn't count join a group that cares about your issue and act and if you can't find one start one some of the most important movements in our history have come from the bottle up in closing we all know that our country is going through something right now we're not sure what the next day is going to hold let alone the
next decade but this isn't the first time we've experienced significant and tumultuous change as a country I'm a student of History and we've gone through periods of political instability before and ultimately we've chosen to keep changing this country for the better but every single time we've only gotten through those moments because of two things engag citizens and principled leaders engage citizens who do a little bit more than they're used to doing to fight for the things that they care about and principled leaders who are ready to receive the ball and do something about it so
thank you tonight for for caring about your country just by watching you qualify as engaged citizens and I promise that I and my fellow Democrats will do everything in our power to be the Principal leaders that you deserve good night everyone
