North Carolinians you’ll see at the State of the Union address

WASHINGTON (WNCN) — Every year, the President delivers a message to Congress and Americans on issues facing the country. It’s typically among the most anticipated and important appearances for the President — especially in an election year.

Along with North Carolina lawmakers, a few residents will be present at Thursday’s State of the Union address.

Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) have invited the family of Keith Siegel to be their guests.

“It is my honor to host the family of North Carolina native Keith Siegel at the State of the Union. The American people cannot forget that six of our fellow citizens are still being held hostage by Hamas terrorists for more than 150 days. The ordeal that these families are going through is horrifying, and I will continue working as hard as I can to see that these Americans are released and returned to their families,” Budd said in a statement.

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Siegel is North Carolina among the six Americans held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. Siegel’s sister, Lucy and niece, Hanna will be in attendance.

“It is an honor to partner with Senator Budd to invite the Siegel family to this year’s State of the Union. Keith and Aviva Siegel were horrifically taken from their home and kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7th attack. While it is a great relief that Aviva has been released, we are still working to secure Keith’s freedom from Hamas captivity. As the terrorist organization Hamas continues its brutal reign over the Palestinian people, we must continue to work to ensure they can never return to power and release all the remaining hostages, including many Americans alongside Keith.”

Coming from Durham, Lavern Lucier will be in attendance as a guest of Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC).

Lucier’s son, Syncere Burrell, died in a shooting in Durham in 2020. Since then, Foushee says Lucier has been an ally in the fight to slow the flow of guns into local communities. She has also been an advocate for improving relations between law enforcement and local communities.

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“People like Lavern Lucier truly exemplify the work Democrats are doing to fight for everyday Americans, and I applaud her commitment to making our schools, neighborhoods, and streets a safer place for our children. As a member of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, I will continue to push for federal gun violence prevention legislation that will save lives and keep our communities safe,” Foushee said.

Atrium Health Levine Cancer nurse Kris Blackley will also be there as a guest of First Lady Jill Biden. Blackley met the First Lady when she visited Charlotte and shared with her information about patient navigators at Levine Cancer. Navigators identify barriers to care and help secure resources for patients.

President Biden is expected to talk about infrastructure projects, lowering the cost of prescriptions, and his work to cut down on credit card late fees.

Democratic Congresswoman Deborah Ross, who represents Wake County, will be attending the State of the Union with her husband. Rep. Ross told CBS 17 that she will be looking for specific messaging.

“Our democracy is under threat, women’s reproductive freedom is under threat, voting rights are under threat and our position in the world is under threat. It is important that we come together in a bipartisan way to move our country forward.

I live in a growing area where people are very concerned about rising housing prices and childcare. They’re very excited about the tax credit bill that the House passed but they’re now looking for Senate action on that. They’re also very happy that we have reduced the price of insulin and prescription drugs, but that really just applies to Medicare and they’re looking for more relief in healthcare. There are more eyes are on the State of the Union in a presidential election year, but Joe Biden is very experienced very polished and he will be up to the job,” Ross said.

The State of the Union Address is scheduled for 9 p.m.. Thursday night.

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