Rep. Dan Maffei and New York senators react to State of the Union address

Rep. Dan Maffei, D-DeWitt, meets in his office tonight with wounded Army Spc. Ryan Wilcox, of New Haven, Oswego County, before President Obama's State of the Union address. Maffei gave his only guest ticket to Wilcox, who has been undergoing physical therapy at Walter Reed National Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., as he recovers from a gunshot to the upper thigh. Wilcox, 24, received a nerve and vein graft to repair damage in his thigh. Courtesy of Office of Rep. Dan Maffei ?

Washington -- Rep. Dan Maffei said tonight that middle class families in Central New York stand to benefit from the initiatives that President Barack Obama highlighted in his State of the Union Address.

Maffei, D-DeWitt, said in an interview after the speech that he liked Obama's idea of changing U.S. tax codes to help promote domestic manufacturing.

Maffei was less enthusiastic about the president's idea of creating up to 15 special manufacturing hubs in region's across the nation.

?We need general programs that will help manufacturing nationwide," Maffei said. "But I think the core of what the president was saying is exactly what we need to hear in Central New York. We need a thriving middle class.?

Maffei added, ?I think he hit all the right places. But that doesn?t mean I will support every program the president proposes.?

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., called the address "President Obama's best and most stirring State of the Union."

Schumer added, "The president focused squarely on the middle class and appealed to the average American. He talked about education, gun safety and immigration, but most of all, jobs. The president's proposals will help put the middle class on a renewed path to prosperity and make our country safer. They deserve a vote, and they deserve our support."

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., also said the president's address offers hope for middle class families.

?For too long, Congress has let the smallness of its politics keep us from solving our greatest challenges ? all at the expense of middle class families and small businesses, Gillibrand said in a statement. "I am hopeful that with a fresh start, we can leave the partisan gridlock and gamesmanship behind us, build consensus around the common, core values that unite us, and do our part to help create new jobs."

Central New York's other House member, Rep. Richard Hanna, R-Barneveld, said before the speech that he hoped to hear the president focus on jobs and the economy.

?Upstate New Yorkers want their leaders in Congress and the White House to put politics aside and focus on serving their foremost needs ? which in our community means getting serious about jobs and the economy,? Hanna said.

Contact Mark Weiner at mweiner@syracuse.com or 571-970-3751. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWeinerDC

Source: http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/02/rep_dan_maffei_reacts_to_presi.html

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