priorities and issues we as a nation must take on next year and beyond. His speech elaborated on
the successes of his presidency 7 years ago when he was first elected, but also reflected his vision
of the work that needs to take place to continue moving our nation forward.
During Obama’s presidency, the American economy has become the strongest in the world. His
efforts to reduce the country’s deficit by nearly three-fourths since 2009, slash the unemployment
rate to the lowest it’s been in 7 years, create 14.1 million new private-sector jobs, and add almost
900,000 American manufacturing jobs over the past 6 years have led to 70 straight months of job
growth to this date. We have made significant gains to move our country forward but the
momentum is at risk if the leadership of our country and Congress does work in bipartisanship to
reflect the values of the American people.
“Today’s political landscape and the future of our country are in jeopardy under the wrong
leadership,” said Johanna Puno Hester, APALA National President. “As we reflect on the state of
the union in the beginning of 2016, we must also be mindful of how we must keep the elected
officials we will vote for at the end of the year accountable for our issues and beliefs.”
“As President Obama stated in his speech, we need to modernize voting to make it easier and
accessible for people to become civically engaged. America cannot afford to let the top 1% that
have the money and power to buy elections and hinder the political process from serving our nation to its full potential,” said Gregory Cendana, APALA National Executive Director. “APALA will carry forward the values of worker, immigrant, and civil rights in our search for viable presidential and congressional candidates that will serve all of our communities."