RI delegation heads to SOTU address

WASHINGTON (WPRI) - In keeping with tradition, all four Democrats in Rhode Island's congressional delegation have invited a local guest to attend President Obama's State of the Union speech this evening.

U.S. Sen. Jack Reed has invited Dezi Halmi, a Scituate resident and University of Rhode Island graduate who is a principal at Primary Flow Signal Inc., a Cranston-based manufacturer that employs more than 80 workers.

U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is bringing Travis Escobar, a junior at Rhode Island College who is president of the school's Student Community Government. The senator said he invited Escobar to demonstrate the importance of maintaining federal funding for Pell Grants.

• Watch President Obama's SOTU address live

Congressman Jim Langevin selected Erin Flynn, a RIC graduate herself, who is the New England Institute of Technology's manager of admissions outreach and events. "Erin is working hard to close the skills gap in our state, which has been an obstacle to our local and national economic recovery," Langevin said.

Congressman David Cicilline asked Adam Tumlinson, a veteran from Pawtucket who fought in the Iraq war as a member of the Rhode Island National Guard from 1999 to 2009. "Although we can never fully repay veterans like Adam for their service to our country, they continue to inspire us through their selfless example," Cicilline said.

In addition, Reed and Cicilline have both decided to sit next to a Republican inside the House chamber for the speech, a symbol of their desire to see more bipartisanship.

Reed will sit with U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., a fellow member of the Senate Armed Services Committee who has worked with him on restructuring Air Force regulations. Cicilline plans to sit with Congresswoman Nan Hayworth, R-N.Y., with whom he co-chairs the House's bipartisan Common Ground Caucus.

"The State of the Union address is an opportunity for all of us in Congress to show a spirit of cooperation among members of both parties," Cicilline and Hayworth said in a joint statement Monday.