Honoring Officer Moore, SOTU and Improvement in Indiana Economy -- January 27, 2011

Dear Friend:

Thank you for reading another edition of my e-newsletter, the Carson Courier. For additional information on these and other topics, please visit my website at https://www.carson.house.gov.

In this week's Carson Courier:

Honoring Officer David Moore
State of the Union
Jobless Rate in Indiana Continues to Decline

Honoring Officer David Moore

On Wednesday, our city collectively mourned the passing of Officer David Moore. After answering his community's call to service, Officer Moore is moving on to a higher calling, as difficult as it may be for all of us to see him go. Officer Moore, the son of two members of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, knew full well about the dangers of police work. But like so many others in law enforcement, he was committed to serving and protecting others. Officer Moore did just that, and our community is a better and safer place to live because of his service and sacrifice.

In honor of Officer Moore, let us never forget the daily sacrifices our law enforcement officers make each day to serve and protect the people of Indianapolis. This week, I've encouraged my colleagues in Congress to pay respect to Officer Moore by going back to their districts and thanking their local law enforcement officers for their courageous work. My wife Mariama and I join the entire City of Indianapolis in mourning the loss of this hero. Officer Moore's family and colleagues remain in my thoughts and prayers.

State of the Union

In Washington this week, President Obama gave his annual State of the Union Address. In it, the President acknowledged the progress our country has made, while remaining firmly focused on the future. Our nation has indeed come a long way in the past couple of years. The actions taken by the President and Democrats in Congress not only stopped the economic free fall, it laid the foundation for our ongoing recovery and a stronger, more competitive U.S. economy.

I recognize that recent economic growth is still not happening fast enough. The President and my Democratic colleagues in Congress remain committed to putting Americans back to work. The President made it clear that as we solve the challenges of today, we must not lose sight of our responsibilities for tomorrow.

The American people expect both parties to set aside petty, political differences and work together to create jobs. The American people have a right to be concerned about mounting state and federal deficits. While I am concerned about our federal deficit, the Republican plan to simply slash spending will only hurt recovery efforts. Crucial investments in infrastructure, education and research are needed to keep the United States at the forefront. The President's approach to growing our economy is bold, necessary and one that I support.

To read more about my reaction to the State of the Union speech, please visit my website here.

Jobless Rate in Indiana Continues to Decline

Lastly a bit of good news, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development reported on Tuesday that the jobless rate had dropped to 9.5 percent in December. While the unemployment rate in Indiana is still far too high, this is the lowest jobless figure since early 2009. This is yet another indicator that economic recovery is under way.

For more information, please visit my website here.

André Carson
Member of Congress