Washington -- Rep. Baca (D-Rialto) released the following statement today following the President's State of the Union address:

"Tonight the President laid out his proposals for the next four years. While these proposals may sound good, I believe that they are not what is in the best interest of my constituents in the 43^rd Congressional district.

Of all the proposals the he laid out tonight, the one that concerned me the most was the President's plan to privatize Social Security. Social Security is facing a challenge, not a crisis. We must address the challenges facing Social Security, to make sure that every American worker gets the benefits they paid for. We need to take the time to develop a plan that gets Social Security right, instead of rushing to dismantle Social Security.

"The Republican plan will hurt everyone, including today's beneficiaries. Privatization will result in benefit cuts and will increase the national deficit. It will cut benefits by over 40% and raise the deficit by $2 trillion to finance risky private accounts.

"We need to save, strengthen and secure Social Security for the future. Under the Republican proposal, Social Security does not get stronger, it gets weaker.

"We can't leave our seniors to "sink or swim." They have paid into Social Security their whole lives and we cannot leave them on their own now. They deserve this money. It's their money.

Privatization of Social Security will affect everyone: veterans, working Americans, seniors, young people, your grandmother, your child, yourself. All of these people will be at risk to lose their benefits through privatization.

The President also failed to mention tonight that he has under funded the No Child Left Behind Act by $27 billion since it was enacted. He has broken his promise to America's children and parents.

He spoke about tax relief, but this tax relief disproportionately affected the wealthiest Americans. Meanwhile, wealthy corporations continue to ship American jobs overseas and are rewarded with more tax breaks.

In Iraq, our troops are fighting without the equipment and protection they need. We need a plan to win the peace and to bring our troops home safely. And we must take care of our veterans. The President made no mention tonight of keeping our promise to take care of our veterans.

I urge the President to join me and many of my colleagues in supporting policies that will help people like my constituents in the 43^rd district. We need to create jobs here in America, reduce the federal deficit, strengthen Social Security, invest in education, and bring our troops home safely."