Chris Coons: “I come to the floor to speak about President Obama's State of the Union Address last week. It was a speech that I…”

“I come to the floor to speak about President Obama's State of the Union Address last week. It was a speech that I believe laid out a positive and forceful agenda for strengthening our middle class and for accelerating our Nation's economic recovery. Over the past year, our Nation's economic progress has become unmistakable and undeniable. In our home State of Delaware, more people are working. People spend much less time looking for work, and job growth has been the strongest it has been since the 1990s. Nationally, we are amidst the longest period of sustained private- sector job growth on record. Of particular interest to me is that our manufacturing sector has come back and come back strongly as manufacturers have created nearly 800,000 jobs in the last 4 years-- jobs that make up the foundation of our 21st century middle class and our economy. Our unemployment rate has dropped to its lowest level since before the great recession. Our growing private sector is not just creating jobs now. They are also laying the foundation for the jobs of the future. As test scores continue to improve, high school graduation rates reach record highs, and, as our President said, ``More Americans finish college than ever before,'' we are laying a path that ensures that future generations of Americans can thrive as well. But our work remains unfinished.…”