Sen. Mark Warner, Sen. Tim Kaine Weigh In on State of the Union

Virginia's Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine weighed in Tuesday night on President Obama's State of the Union address to Congress. Here's what they had to say:

"I was pleased the President began his speech with a strong call for a bipartisan grand bargain to continue to address our deficits and debt," Warner said in a news release. "A balanced plan that includes additional revenue, smarter spending cuts and responsible entitlement reform — and avoids the self-inflicted wounds from sequester — is a key component of any economic growth agenda. 

"The President also endorsed a proposal I unveiled last week to work to double our nation's energy productivity by 2030, and I look forward to helping to lead the effort to make smart investments to rebuild our nation's infrastructure. 
We will have many opportunities in the weeks and months ahead to work together to strengthen the economic recovery and move our country forward." 

Kaine also weighed in with his observations of President Obama's speech:

“I’m gratified that President Obama confronted the danger of self-inflicted economic wounds like sequestration head on tonight. The American people – and the state of our economy – deserve better than governing by crisis. They deserve better than across-the-board, indiscriminate cuts set to take effect on March 1 that threaten to reverse our economic recovery and cost Virginia nearly 200,000 jobs. 

“We can reach a bipartisan agreement to avert these cuts in the short-term. But it’s our responsibility to find solutions for the long-term as well. The good news is that we have the opportunity to return to an orderly budget process right now – one that takes a balanced approach to solving our fiscal challenges through smart spending cuts, smart revenue and smart investments, as the President discussed tonight. I’m hopeful we can get there, and that we can soon restore economic certainty for middle class families in the Commonwealth and across the country.

“The President also struck the right tone in his call for continued compromise on reducing gun violence and fixing our broken immigration system. With bipartisan ideas already on the table, we have a unique chance to act on these issues – one that we can’t afford to squander. And while I agree that vigorous debate is always important, we can’t let endless partisan debate obscure the common ground that does exist in this body and among the American people. I look forward to working with my colleagues to build on this momentum in the coming months.”