Sens. Toomey, Casey weigh in on what they'd like to hear from Trump tonight

Pennsylvania’s U.S. senators hope that President Donald Trump will point to two Pittsburghers seated as his guests at the State of the Union as part of a message of unity and against hate.

Judah Samet, a Holocaust survivor who missed the massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue because he was minutes late, and Pittsburgh police Officer Timothy Matson, who was shot several times by the accused gunman, could be recognized by the president during the speech.

“It’s an important opportunity to make a complete, unequivocal statement condemning hatred and bigotry,” U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, said Tuesday during a call with reporters. “Racism has absolutely not place in American society, and this would be a good moment to make comment.”

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, said he hopes the president expresses sympathy for those affected by the shooting. Eleven people were killed. Seven people, including five police officers, were injured. A community was shattered.

“I hope he can talk about it in a very unifying way,” Casey said.

Casey said he hopes Trump will address the shutdown and its impact on hundreds of thousands of federal employees.

“The president tonight, among other things, should say very specifically, ‘As long as I am president of the United States, I will do everything in my power to prevent any more shutdowns,’” Casey said.

Toomey said he doesn’t believe the president wants to go down that road a second time. He wants to hear the president to use the speech to make what the senator called a strong case for a wall along the southern border. He called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s objections to the wall absurd.

“Obviously, a wall is a component of a meaningful border security system,” Toomey said.

But Toomey did say that Trump should be open to compromise on the amount of money provided for the wall and timing. The president’s tone in the speech should show that he is reasonable and willing to negotiate, Toomey said.

Trump should feature the economy prominently in the speech, Toomey said.

“At the top of my list, the president should really underscore the tremendous strength of our economy,” Toomey said. “It’s a great, great success story that is very much attributable to the tax reform regulatory relief.”

The senator would also like to hear updates on situations and conflicts around the world. Toomey would like to hear more about Trump’s plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, Russia and recent arms control agreements, negotiations with North Korea, and trade with China.

“Hopefully, there is some progress being made on negotiations with China,” Toomey said.

Casey wants Trump to commit to ensure all federal workers in the aftermath of shutdown are made whole financially including back pay and any late fees or other issues related to late bills. He also hopes the president will include federal contracted workers to receive those benefits as well.

Casey is taking Monica Hughes, an Army reservist veteran and TSA officer at Pittsburgh International Airport, as his guest.

“It’s critically important that people hear about the effects of this shutdown,” Casey said. “Not just from public officials and commentators, but people who were directly, and unfortunately, adversely affected.”

Casey said he wants the president to speak on infrastructure improvements, which Casey considers an “urgent issue.” He said there are thousands of bridges and roads that need to be repaired along with needed upgrades to the electricity grid and broadband service in rural areas.

“He has to stay engaged on this,” he said. “I would hope the president would start traveling the country.”

Aaron Aupperlee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Aaron at 412-336-8448, aaupperlee@tribweb.com or via Twitter @tinynotebook. Emily Balser is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Emily at 724-226-4680, emilybalser@tribweb.com or via Twitter @emilybalser.