Who is Ryan Mackenzie’s guest for Trump’s State of the Union?

A Head Start teacher from Lehighton will be U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie’s guest for the State of the Union Address.

Sarah Arndt, a lead teacher at PathStone Carbon County Head Start, will accompany Mackenzie to President Donald Trump’s address Tuesday evening, Mackenzie announced in a news release. Arndt has been a teacher at PathStone for 13 years.

“The work of Sarah and her colleagues highlights the critical role early childhood education and child care play in supporting our communities,” Mackenzie said in a statement. “As a working parent and a proud advocate for the needs of working families, I’m grateful to have Sarah joining us to bring attention to the value of affordable, reliable child care and early childhood education. In the months ahead, I’ll continue working alongside people in our community like Sarah to deliver real results for working families.”

Mackenzie said among his priorities in Congress has been addressing rising child care costs. His first bill introduced in Congress was the Working Families Tax Package, which includes increasing the child tax credit, paid family and medical leave tax credit and employee-sponsored child care tax credit; and expanding the adoption tax credit and creating a matching IVF tax credit.

He also has supported a permanent increase to the child tax credit, expanded employer-sponsored child care benefits and increased Head Start funding.

“I’m honored to be representing children, families, and teachers in the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos at the State of the Union,” Arndt said in a statement. “Early childhood education provides children with the head start that they deserve, and I appreciate this opportunity to highlight the impact that it makes every day.”