Rep. Molinaro, Sen. Schumer invite Binghamton-area residents to Biden’s State of the Union address

WASHINGTON (WBNG) -- Two members of the Binghamton area will be in attendance for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday night.

Congressman Marc Molinaro (R, NY-19) will be joined by Vice President & Programs Coordinator at GiGi’s Playhouse Anna Bruce, who helped find the nonprofit in 2019.

GiGi’s Playhouse is part of a nationwide organization that is dedicated to providing education, and therapeutic and career-development programs for people with Down syndrome and other disabilities. Assisting those with disabilities, and bringing awareness to the issues they face every day, was a major part of Molinaro’s campaign for the House of Representatives.

The freshman congressman said he was honored to have Bruce join him for the State of the Union address, which will be the first one he attends. Likewise, Bruce said she was honored to attend the once-a-year event with him as her son, Camden, has Down syndrome.

“When Camden was diagnosed with Down syndrome, I made it my mission to provide him with the tools he needed to succeed,” Bruce said. “However, on this journey, I quickly realized there was a lack of programming in our community for kids like Camden.”

Bruce said Camden’s diagnosis inspired the establishment of GiGi’s Playhouse.

Recently, Molinaro introduced his first bill, the “Think DIFFERENTLY Database Act,” which aims to make people with disabilities, and their families, have easier access to resources and support services via a website.

Meanwhile, longtime senator and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D, NY) announced he will bring Binghamton University Professor Dr. Stanley Whittingham to the State of the Union address.

Whittingham received a Nobel Prize in 2019 in chemistry for his work on the development of lithium-ion batteries. Binghamton University was awarded $113 million in September 2022 for its New Energy New York proposal, which aims to make the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions a national hub for battery research and manufacturing.

Schumer has been a major proponent of bringing battery production to New York.

“We could not do what we are doing without the senator’s support and without all of the federal programs funding domestic manufacturing and technology innovation,” said Whittingham. “I am honored to be invited to attend the State of the Union as the senator’s guest and thank the senator for all of his support for this program and for Binghamton University through the years.”

In addition to battery research at Binghamton University, Schumer announced in October 2022 that Micron will be building a multi-billion plant for semiconductor chips in the Syracuse area. The announcement drew praise from the Biden administration.

The president’s State of the Union address will occur at 9 p.m.